Hakakâ (Fight)
by RaeBeth13
Summary: The Five-0 team are about to welcome a new and exciting addition but it soon becomes clear that they are faced with circumstances that could see another ripped away. Together the team band together in a struggle to fight what appears to be a losing battle.
1. Chapter 1

**Middle East...**

The sound of guns popped loudly and muzzle flashes lit up the air at strategic locations around the target compound. A SEAL team carefully advanced through the area, their faces shielded by night vision goggles, reacting to insurgents as quickly as they could in order to meet their objective of securing the location. They entered the buildings of the compound with stealth like precision. The air was thick, their boots kicking up the thick layer of dust, sending the particles spiraling in front of their tactical lights on the rifles.

"Zone 1, clear." A voice announced over the radio.

"Zone 3 clear." Another voice transmitted.

"Sir…" a young man said as he approached the commanding officer. "We have a positive ID, sir." He nodded.

The commanding officer followed him through a rabbit warren of corridors before being led into a room with a large hole in the floor.

"Down there, sir."

The officer, without hesitation, pushed his rifle behind his back and headed down an old wooden step ladder into the dark void.

Two other SEAL's were already down there, snapping glow sticks to provide some light. Each stick offered more and more view of the surprisingly large space filled with weapons and ammunition.

"This is a massive find, Commander." One of the SEAL's nodded with amazement to the officer.

"It pays to have good intel, Lieutenant." Steve answered as he scoped the room before lifting his night vision goggles.

"Commander McGarrett?" a voice called down.

"Yeah?"

"The choppers are inbound." the voice continued.

"Copy that." Steve nodded before looking back at the two men. "No one comes down here until the inspectors arrive."

"Yes sir." The Lieutenant nodded. "Good luck on Stage 2."

He patted the guy on the arm encouragingly before heading back up the ladder and above ground. "COMMAND FOXTROT THIS IS FOXTROT OSCAR TANGO TWO NINER." Steve called through the radio as he made it out of the building and into the center area of the compound.

"Go ahead Foxtrot Oscar Tango two niner." A voice replied.

"Stage one is complete. Hostiles have been neutralized and location is locked down. Target assets have been located and secured. Charlie Team will be staying on location until the inspectors are on site. Alpha and Bravo teams are heading out to the LZ for extraction. We will be leaving for Stage 2's location in 8 minutes." He continued.

"Roger that FOXTROT OSCAR TANGO TWO NINER" the voice responded.

"Ok, all teams except for Charlie Team, with me." Steve called, pacing at speed towards the entrance of the compound.

"Permission to speak freely, Commander?" A young SEAL said as he hurried to Steve's side.

"Go ahead, Ash." Steve nodded.

The man hesitated for a moment. "I just have a bad feeling about us going into the next stage a team down."

Steve glanced at the man, his own doubts clear in his expression. "I understand, I've had my concerns too. I've voiced them with the powers that be, they did a risk assessment and the threat came back lower than this part of the operation."

"With all due respect, sir… they're not in the field… getting shot at."

Steve stopped just short of the landing zone and looked at the man, sighing. "Again, I agree with you… unfortunately it is what it is… we just have to be completely focused when we get there. Make sure we all get home. Can you help me do that?"

"Yes sir." The man replied enthusiastically.

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**Two weeks later…**

Catherine laughed softly as she pulled out a tiny camouflaged patterned suit from a gift box and held it up for all to see.

"Grace saw it… said she thought Steve would like it." Danny nodded.

"I think he will love it, Gracie…" Catherine smiled as she leant forward and kissed her on the head. She sighed as she looked around the room, the floor covered in gifts. "You guys have been so incredibly kind. This baby is so lucky." She smiled softly.

"First 5-0 baby…" Kono smiled. "We're all just as excited as you are."

"She's right." Chin nodded as he reached for Leilani's hand.

"Have you got the crib built yet sista?" Kamekona asked Catherine.

"Yes, I did it." Danny answered as he raised his hand proudly. "All by myself, didn't I Cath?"

"You most certainly did, Danny." Catherine nodded.

"You should probably get someone with an idea to come take a look at it and make sure it's structurally sound." Kamekona nodded.

"I suppose that someone with an idea is a guy who runs a shrimp truck. No thank you. It's perfectly fine." Danny snapped with disgust that anyone would even question his abilities.

Catherine rubbed her fingers over the pattern of the camouflage suit as her smile faded.

Danny noticed her distance but was keen to detract any unwanted attention from her. "Ok, who wants another drink?" he said as he stood up. "Grace, why don't you help Catherine pack these things away and start taking them up to the baby's room?"

"Ok." Grace nodded with excitement.

Danny walked into the kitchen, downing the remnants of his beer before opening the refrigerator. He felt some arms wrap lovingly around his chest and a chin nestle into his shoulder. He grinned. "Steve, your back?"

"Oh you're a smart ass." Amber smacked him playfully on the shoulder.

He turned, scooping her up into his arms and hugging her. "I should have known… Steve doesn't smell as good as you."

Amber smiled broadly before it faded, she glanced out at Catherine. "She's struggling, isn't she?"

Danny sighed as he stepped back and leant against the counter. "It can't be easy." He paused. "I kind of get it… I want him back here just as much as she does."

Amber looked at him sympathetically.

"Not knowing when he's going to walk back through that door, if he ever will, or if we'll never know what happened to him if it all goes south."

"What do you mean?" she frowned.

Danny shrugged. "Steve's been on missions before, before he started with 5-0, that have been so off the books that if they're captured or killed… there's no acknowledgement what so ever. No rescue mission, no body retrieval… they just disappear, with no explanation."

Amber frowned with shock. "Oh my god…" she whispered. "And she's living with that in her mind?"

"Plus he's already a week and a half over due on the expected duration of the deployment."

"So of course she would be thinking something's happened." She nodded. "What do you think?"

"I try not to…" Danny replied softly. "I got to be there for Catherine… I promised Steve I would be, so it's better for me to try and stay as detached as I can."

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_**Three months earlier…**_

Danny walked into the 5-0 office followed by Chin, he frowned as he saw Steve through the windows talking to a highly decorated Naval officer.

Kono headed out to meet them in the main area.

"We have a guest…" Danny pointed to Steve's office.

"Very observant of you, Danny." Kono nodded.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Steve in trouble again?"

"Your guess is as good as mine… but whatever it is, they've been discussing it for well over an hour." Kono responded.

Both the officer and McGarrett stood up, he shook a reluctant Steve's hand and walked out, nodding to them with silent acknowledgement before putting his hat on and heading out the doors. Danny noticed Steve slump down into his chair and close his eyes with frustration.

"Excuse me…" Danny whispered before walking over to the glass doors and through. "You ok?"

Steve sighed and looked up. He offered Danny a smile though he was unconvincing. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Really? Because you look like you've done some kind of deal with the devil?" Danny answered. "Talk."

Steve leant forward, placing his arms against the desk. "I've been called back to active duty."

"What? Back to Intelligence?"

Steve thinned his lips bitterly. "Not exactly."

"Back to a SEAL unit?"

He didn't respond with words, just a look that said it all.

"They can do that?" Danny asked.

"Sure can. And they've done it." Steve paused for a moment. "A ten week deployment."

Danny raised his eyebrows. "Wow…" he said. "They don't have others from the mother ship to do this? Surly you get some kind of pass because of your job here?"

"It doesn't work like that, Danny. They want someone who can plan and lead and execute a mission." He looked down at the desk. "My service record came back with a specific tactical experience match with an operation I ran five years ago. There was only one other match…" Steve nodded. "Turns out the guy was KIA five months ago."

"Right." Danny answered, not sure how he was supposed to respond. "Not really a match worth mentioning then."

"No." Steve agreed.

Danny sighed and shook his head. "Look, if this is what you have to do then you don't have much choice." he shrugged. "You've done this a hundred times before…"

"I'm not worried about going, Danny…" he replied softly. "It's the timing and Catherine."

"Ten weeks, you'll be back by the time the baby is due… and if anyone is going to understand the commitment then it would be Catherine…" Danny nodded.

"Yeah…" Steve whispered as he rested his head back against the top of his chair.

Danny paused. "Me, on the other hand, I'm truly breaking on the inside to think I'm going to be without my significant other for over two months… although I will enjoy actually using the gas I pay to put in my car."

Steve smiled.

Danny sighed. "You need to focus on what you have to do… you don't have to worry about Catherine, she's got a whole crowd of people looking out for her here. We'll take care of her, you take care of you… and you get back safe for this baby. Because I draw the line at diaper duty. I really do, Steve." He nodded seriously.

Steve laughed softly. "Thanks Danny…" he said genuinely.

"You're welcome." He nodded.

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_**Present day...**_

Danny stepped down the stairs of Steve's house as Catherine handed him a mug of coffee. It was late evening when everyone had left aside from Danny and Grace.

"Just so you know, Grace's OCD tendencies have kicked in. She's got Amber up there organizing the baby's room. She's currently putting everything in color and size co-ordination." Danny nodded.

Catherine laughed softly as she sat down. "She's a good helper."

"Yeah… she may also start completely taking over so be warned." He nodded as he too sat down.

"She's excited…"

"Just a little." Danny replied.

Catherine sank back into the couch and smiled. "Thank you for today, Danny… organizing a baby shower like that."

"We all had a truck load of gifts, and we don't need much of an excuse for a party… so…" he shrugged. "I know, traditionally it's only supposed to be a girl thing… but there ain't nothing traditional about our family."

"No there isn't." Catherine giggled before her smile faded.

Danny's eyes drifted down. When Steve left Catherine was strong and focused, but as time went by her motivation had slowly melted away. He was now finding it hard to stop her from dwelling on every little thing.

"It's ok to laugh, you know that, right?" Danny nodded.

"I know… it's just, when I do… I can't help but think about Steve, then I wonder what he's doing, what's happening… if he's safe."

Danny thinned his lips into a sympathetic smile.

"Three weeks before this baby is due." She paused. "I don't want to do this on my own, Danny." She shook her head.

"Get that out of your head right now." Danny answered. "No matter what, you won't be doing anything alone. If Steve doesn't make it back in time, which I highly doubt, you're going to be sick of us… you're going to begging us for alone time."

Catherine smiled.

"Although... birthing partner..." Danny said cautiously.

"It's fine…" Catherine giggled softly. "I have back up for that specific job."

"Good…" he said with genuine relief. Headlights pierced through the windows from the darkness outside. "That'll be the Pizza." Danny hopped to his feet with excitement. 

Catherine rested her head against the back of the couch.

Danny reached for his wallet out of his back pocket, grabbing a bunch of notes out before opening the door. His eyes widened and a smile crept across his lips.

"Hey…" Steve grinned as he walked towards the steps onto the lanai.

Danny stepped out and closed the door behind him. Forcing back his relief and happiness to see his best friend so he could respond with something fitting. "Where's my pizza?"

"Sorry, I've been working my other job." Steve smiled as they embraced.

"I can't tell you how good it is to see you." Danny said, patting him on the back. "Although…" he stepped back and looked at the state of Steve. His arm in a sling and his face bruised and lacerated. He pointed at the damage. "How does this SEAL thing work when you come back? They just kick you out of a moving car or what?"

"It's a long story…" Steve nodded.

"Right. And one you will never tell me." Danny nodded as he pushed his hands in his pockets. "But that's ok… I don't care. You're back safe, that's all that matters."

Steve hesitated for a moment. "How's Cath?" he asked nervously.

"Aside from being beside herself with worry, missing you like crazy, she's fine… she's going to be a lot better having you next to her tonight."

Steve nodded with relief.

"Go… you go in and see her… I'll hang out here for a little bit." Danny nodded.

"Thanks Danny." He whispered before heading through the door.

Catherine still had her head against the couch, her back to the door. "You better have peperoni pizza Danny…" she called as she heard footsteps.

Steve grinned slightly. "They were all out, I was hoping the next best thing got delivered." He said.

She lifted her head slowly before looking over in his direction. Without a word she bounced to her feet and ran over. Steve scooped her up with his arm, kissing her softly as she embraced him.

"I am so glad you are back." She whispered.

He pulled away, clutching her hand, and looked down at her. "Wow… look at you. How is he?" he said, placing his hand on her belly.

"She is fine…" she answered. "Doesn't like sitting still… just like you."

"Uncle Steve!" Grace yelled as she screamed down the stairs with Amber following at a much slower pace.

"Hey kiddo." He said as he hugged her.

"It's good to have you back, Steve." Amber nodded.

"It's good to be back." He replied with a smile.

Danny walked back in with a Pizza box in his hand. "Alright, you know what? We'll leave you kids."

"No, Danny… you don't have to go." Steve answered.

"Yes we do." He nodded. "Play lunch tomorrow?"

"Absolutely." Steve answered with certainty.

"Here, have something to eat." He said as he put the pizza box down on the side. "Oh, and if you can keep your hands off each other long enough, remember to turn your cell back on. I'll call you in the morning." Danny advised.

Catherine and Steve grinned.

"Come on… out of here." He pointed to the door whilst looking at Amber and Grace.

"But Danno!" Grace moaned.

"We'll get food on the way home." He said as he ushered them out. "Come on already."

"Night Danno…" Steve nodded.

"Why didn't you call us to come pick you up?" Catherine asked as the door closed.

"I didn't know what time I'd be back." He answered. "Besides… I thought a suprise would be nicer."

Catherine nodded as she looked into his eyes. "I'd ask you what happened, but…" she said as she brushed her hand over his arm.

"Workplace accident." He nodded before he offered her a subtle boyish grin. He sighed with relief before resting his brow against hers and closed his eyes, savoring the moment.

They paused for a moment. Just the simple contact between them was enough.

"You hungry?" she whispered. "Pizza?"

"I thought you'd never ask." He laughed softly as they parted.

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Catherine nestled back into a cane chair at the end of the bed, it seemed to have become a regular nightly ritual for her in the early hours of the morning. Though this night had been filled with restlessness, the cause had been more to do with pregnancy rather than worry.

She felt she could breathe again, but in a strange sort of way she'd adapted to living with apprehension and fear that it seemed hard to let go of. The past few months she'd only taken life hour by hour, never daring to map out the future because she just didn't know what the future would involve. Now she had to work out a way to give herself the permission to focus on looking forward again.

She watched him sleep so peacefully, his face delicately illuminated by the glow of the moon through the open doors in the bedroom. Occasionally a comfortable breeze picked up, causing the drapes to dance gently as they framed the beautiful view of the calm ocean. A world away from where he'd been. His chest rising and falling lightly, his fingers were gently curled around the soft pillow like it was some kind of comforter.

His expression seemed filled with a calmness, so tranquil and still. She wished that was something that could last, but the hard reality was it could never be so. Given the brutal nature of his work, coupled with the physical signs of trauma, she was well aware that there had been complications and that something had gone awry. Sadly, complications in his world were never as mundane as regular workplace incident, like tripping over a chair or getting a paper cut. In his world it would involve agonizing sleepless nights of second guessing and reliving life and death decisions. She had little doubt that there would be demons, under that seemingly restful exterior, that he would inevitably have to fight.

**H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

He opened his eyes slightly as the blinding early morning sun filtered through and into the room. He smiled softly at the thought. No uncomfortable rack, no dust riddled room shared with other guys, no time lines to follow, no set routine. He was home. He closed his eyes again, just allowing himself to enjoy the freedom, but the sound of the waves rolling up on the beach caught his attention. It seemed rude of him to not at least check them out from the comfort of his bedroom. "Cath?" he called out. She didn't reply but he could hear movement coming from downstairs.

He winced with pain as he sat up. His body aching but his arm and shoulder, in particular, were causing the most discomfort. If he thought he could have at least attempted a surf today he was now put in his place. Besides, his attention was now completely focused on the gauze over the wound site on his shoulder.

There was a small amount of fresh blood seeping through lightly but enough for him to suddenly become motivated to change the dressing, especially wanting to do it before Catherine came back up. He carefully walked over to his bag, quickly locating some adhesive gauze before heading over to a small mirror that hung between the two sets of French doors. He thinned his lips, wincing, as he carefully removed the dressings and studied two wounds which had been stitched back together.

"Are they bullet wounds?" Catherine asked with concern as she stood frozen at the door with two cups of coffee in her hand.

He closed his eyes with frustration. He knew he wouldn't be able to hide them forever, but he wished he'd just made it a little longer. At least until he'd had a chance to talk to her about it all.

"They've been taken care of." Steve answered encouragingly.

"You got these on your mission?" she asked with confusion as she placed the coffee cups down on the nightstand beside the bed and walked back over to him.

He knew exactly where she was heading with this. If Catherine had been a regular civilian then details wouldn't be so obvious and wouldn't be questioned. "Yeah…" he whispered

She shook her head, running through all possible scenarios and none made sense to her. "I don't understand… how could you get these over the wire… you wear armor… this wound is where the armor should be sitting." She said as she stared at the one on his shoulder.

He sighed as he turned. "It's complicated."

"Complicated? Because to me there is only one explanation as to how this could have happened. That you took your body armor off?" she paused as she looked into his eyes. "I know you wouldn't have done that." She waited for his reaction, for him to react offensively as to how she could even consider he would do such a thing. When it didn't come, only a blank expression was offered, her eyes burnt into him. "Why would you do that, Steve?"

"Cath…" he whispered, in the hopes she would calm down but his attempt was fruitless.

"I know that this is the first time you've been on deployment since things got serious between us. Before I could separate it all, but now everything happens to you… it directly affects me for so many more reasons. You can't hide things from me or protect me from the truth…"

He turned his head away, unable to string a sentence together that would make any sense right now. He needed to sit down with her, when his head was clear and he had everything worked out. His story was a potential mine field of reactions for someone in her present condition, with hormones flying around and it had to be approached delicately.

She knew he was closing up, withdrawing, just like he'd been trained to do. Now wasn't the time to push him. "Let me help you with that." She whispered as she stepped to the side of him and held her hand out to take the gauze.

He sighed as he peeled the backing off the gauze, turning his shoulder to the mirror. "I got it." He said as he placed the gauze over the wound awkwardly, pressing down firmly so as to allow it to stick.

Catherine stepped in front of him, rubbing her fingers gently over his upper arms, tracing the contours of his biceps.

He closed his eyes, the comfort she brought was far more effective than any kind of pain killer.

"Ok, I promise… no more questions." She nodded.

He rested his brow against hers and cupped his hand tenderly under her jaw line. Silently he thanked her for her understanding but frustrated it had to be this way for now. "There is going to be a point where I will be able to tell you what happened, just not right now."

"Ok…" she whispered. "Ok…"


	2. Chapter 2

"So what's it's like to be back?" Danny asked as the pair sat under the shade of a sun umbrella at Kamekona's shrimp truck. The beautiful turquoise ocean providing a stunning backdrop. 

Steve sighed as he thinned his eyes and scanned the horizon. "Strange…" he nodded. "I've never come back to Hawaii straight out of a deployment." He shrugged. "Coming back to a place like this, from where I've been…" he paused "everything's just so much clear than it ever was before… the colors, the sky… the water."

Danny nodded gently.

"No matter what happens over there, being able to come back to this makes it all worth it."

"Something's got to make it worth being shot at all day every day, being separated from your family and friends like that for nearly three months."

"It wasn't really as dramatic as that, Danny. Mostly intelligence gathering…"

"Oh, I stand corrected. Forgive my mistake, I didn't realize intelligence gathering could be so hazardous." Danny nodded to his shoulder.

Steve grinned for a moment before his smile faded and his expression became haunted.

"What's with the look?"

"What look?" Steve asked, snapping out of it.

"The look you give when something's not right with you. In your head."

"I don't have a look. I certainly didn't give a look."

"How would you even know? You weren't looking at yourself." Danny pushed.

He paused for a moment. "Catherine's asking questions…"

"About your deployment?"

Steve nodded.

Danny frowned. "Can't you use the 'c' word you use on everyone else?"

"The 'c' word?" Steve replied as if he were clueless.

"You know exactly which 'c' word I am referring to Stephen." He replied in a serious tone.

"I'm fairly certain the 'c' word I'm thinking of bears no reference to this specific conversation."

"Classified… why can't you just tell her it's all classified?" Danny snapped, eager to put an end to Steve's attempts to deflect.

He sighed and looked out over the water again. "Because she picks up on details most people wouldn't think twice about."

"Details?" Danny prompted him, but when there was silence he dropped his hands onto the picnic table and glared at him with frustration. "You know, trying to give you advice when the subject matter is in code, doesn't come as naturally to some of us as you might think."

Steve hesitated again, wondering how much information he was prepared to divulge. "I got clipped, twice, out there." He nodded.

"Ok. In a conversation with anyone else I would be shocked about that kind of revelation, probably a little concerned… but with you I am strangely comfortable, because I'm expecting nothing less… you're incapable of surviving anything without being shot." Danny nodded. "She does know what you do, right? She can't be too shocked about it? I mean, I assume you didn't get this far in your relationship without mentioning the whole SEAL thing?"

"One is mostly a flesh wound but the other is right under the Clavicle." Steve whispered softly, ignoring Danny's banter.

"You can't just say shoulder?" Danny shrugged.

"In this particular instance that's the kind of detail where the problem lies." Steve nodded.

Danny shook his head with confusion.

"She knows I couldn't have been wearing armor when I was shot… and now she wants to know why."

"Why can't you just tell her the reason?" Danny shrugged.

Steve sighed. "Because I don't think she's going to like it."

"I'm intrigued." He nodded. "You tell me the story and I'll tell you how she's going to react." He joked, fully expecting Steve to refuse, deflect or walk away. Instead he did something Danny wasn't expecting, not in a million years.

Steve sighed. "I'd spent eight weeks working on an investigation. Identifying, locating and securing assets that the enemy had. We ended up with two credible targets. One had been established directly by the team I was working with, the other was a late comer but backed by field Intel and supposedly verified by a whole range of departments."

Danny listened intently as he clasped his hand around a bottle of beer.

"The first one, my team's one, went without problem… in, locked down and out. The whole thing took no more than twelve minutes. We left a team on site and the rest of us headed out to the second target area about thirty klicks away from the first." He paused. "Again, everything seemed to be going well… we entered the compound with no resistance at all. Swept the buildings… in the first couple of minutes it seemed like it was a pretty straight forward job." He nodded.

"Until?" Danny asked.

Steve's eyes drifted down, he sighed. "Until…"

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_**Middle East – Two weeks earlier**_

_The teams congregated in the compound, waiting for final clearance from all parties before they could declare the area as secured._

_"Zone 3 is clear, sir." Ash nodded as he approached Steve. "No eyes on any weapons though."_

_"Ok." Steve nodded as he scanned his surroundings._

_"Lt. Commander?" Another SEAL said as he stepped out from the largest of the structures. "We got a problem."_

_"What is it?" Steve asked as he walked over._

_"We found friendlies holed up inside. Their pretty distraught about something, but none of us can translate."_

_"Ok." Steve nodded before following the petty officer into the building. They came to a small room where a group of men and women were sat on the dusty clay floor. The women had tears in their eyes and the men had a look of genuine fear. One of the men stepped between the soldiers and the civilians. "It's ok…" he said softly. "Ismii Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett… maa ismuk?" (My name is Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett… what's your name?)_

_The group glared at him suspiciously. Offering him nothing._

_"We're not here for you… we not here to hurt you." He nodded._

_The man who had placed himself between the groups stepped forward again, but his advance was disturbed by one of the SEALs in the room lifting his gun in preparation. The man stopped, raising his hands to surrender._

_"No, no, no…" Steve said, extending his hand out to his own men. "Stand down." He ordered before looking back to the man. "It's ok… it's ok…" he nodded at the man. "Min fadlak. Maa ismuk?" (Please. What's your name?)_

_"Faheem…" the man said cautiously as he placed his hands on his chest, introducing himself._

_"Faheem…" Steve repeated with a nod. He paused. "As-Salaam-Alaikum." (Peace be with you.)_

_"Wa-Alaikum-Salaam." (And upon you be peace.) The man nodded, his eyes shifting nervously between the men that flanked Steve but he seemed open to trusting._

_Steve continued to speak to him carefully in his native language, his tone filled with reassurance._

_The man started to tell their story, each word coming out more and more frantic than the last._

_"Sir?" a petty officer asked when Faheem had finished._

_"He says that this compound has been used to house weapons for over six years. When it started this area was an enemy strong hold… lots of villages in the area were being raided and innocent civilians were getting caught in the cross fire. They were approached by insurgents who offered them a deal, the residents would store their weapons stockpiles and in return the insurgents would provide protection for everyone who lived here. They promised to stop coalition forces even getting close to the compound." He paused. "He says the weapons were taken yesterday… but instead of providing them any kind of protection… they took the eight children that live here."_

_"For soldiers?" the petty officer frowned._

_"No…" the man shook his head, finally trusting enough to speak in English. "They have taken the children to trade with your people."_

_Steve's face hardened. "Trade for what?"_

_"A prisoner… a high ranking Taliban member, captured last week. He's due to be flown out to your country, for interrogation, in the morning." Faheem replied._

_"Who are they planning to deal with for the trade negotiations?" Steve asked._

_"You…" Faheem nodded._

_Steve frowned. "I don't understand. Us?"_

_"They knew you people were coming, Commander. That's why they moved the weapons and left us to fend for ourselves. They took the children because they saw an opportunity."_

_Steve closed his eyes and sighed. Somehow, somewhere, they had been set up. Information on operations like this could be sold for big money if brokered at the right price. The thing he couldn't look past was that these children, because of the operation Steve was leading, were now being used as unacceptable pawns. He looked back at the man. "Faheem… how old are the children?"_

_The man frowned with sadness. "The eldest is fifteen years… the youngest is not even six months old."_

_His stomach churned and his heart paced. From out of nowhere, and for the first time in his life, he had a whole new scope of understanding. In this moment he now knew what it was like to identify with parents, the way he'd seen Danny express so many times before. A torrent of emotions seemed to slam into him, crushing him with a force of responsibility coupled with an unmeasurable amount of desire to fix the situation._

_"Sir… may I speak to you privately?" A lieutenant said as he stepped over to Steve._

_Steve nodded as they stepped out into the cool air in the compound._

_"There's nothing here… we need to go." The lieutenant nodded._

_"We can't." Steve shook his head._

_"Sir, you know as well as I do, DoD will never sanction us going on a rescue mission based off what we've just heard." He sighed. "More to the point, they wouldn't risk our lives for those kids. They'd be considered as an acceptable loss."_

_"You think it's acceptable, Brad? Because to me it isn't." Steve sighed. "Those kids may be in this mess because of our investigation… because someone on our side may have sold information that put them in danger. These people didn't ask for this." He shook his head as he pointed to the door._

_"They harbored terrorists, sir." The lieutenant shrugged._

_Steve looked at him with pity. "This is your first deployment here, right?"_

_"Yes sir…" he nodded._

_"I can tell…" Steve shrugged. "Because if you'd been around this part of the world before, spent some time trying to understand this country and how it's driven right now, you'd be like me… and have no doubt in your mind those people in there, helping the enemy like that, only did it because they have no choice." Steve replied. "It's not as black and white as it would be back home. They live in complete fear, with the enemy literally on their doorsteps… they depend on whoever will show them support, just like they're depending on us now."_

_"Even if this man is telling us the truth, and this is what they have been told, the Taliban must know we would never trade a high ranking official for a bunch of kids."_

_Steve nodded. "I know…" he whispered before turning and heading back inside. "Faheem… how are we supposed to get hold of them?"_

_"They have a satellite phone… they wrote down the number."_

_"Ok, give it to me." Steve nodded._

_Faheem removed a piece of scrap paper from his clothing, handing it over. "You think your people will trade?"_

_Steve's eyes drifted down before he moved to the side of the room with Faheem. "No… I don't think they will… but that's just one side to how this can be done… I'm certain that I can get the children back for you."_

_"How?"_

_"They know that there is no way our side could justify releasing a high value asset in exchange for the children." He nodded. "It's unlikely they would make that kind of trade for any one of us." He said as he looked into his eyes. "They took the children because they are hoping, one way or another, they would get something valuable from us in exchange… even if it's not their guy. If we were to give them something of reasonable worth in exchange, we could get the children back."_

_"I don't have anything of any kind of worth." Faheem gushed urgently._

_Steve tightened his jaw, his heart skipping a beat as his body digested what he was about to do. "That's not true… you have me." He nodded._

_"You?" Faheem shrugged with confusion. "I don't understand."_

_"I'm a Navy Intelligence officer… so, in their eyes, I would be considered a high value hostage. I make the call, I sell that to them, they agree to swap me for the kids… we can get them home safely."_

_"But what about you?" Faheem shook his head with concern._

_"The chances are they would keep me alive, even if they don't get their exchange…" he nodded. "But the children are of no value to them, they would almost certainly be killed if we didn't do it this way…"_

_"They would torture you. I heard stories about what they do in those camps."_

_"Faheem…" Steve said as he rested his hands on his shoulder. "Whatever happens to me… it's not your fight. All that matters, right now, is that we get your children back. Ok?"_

_The man stood with tears in his eyes and gratitude etched into his face. "Shukran." (Thank you) He whispered softly._

_"Shukran jazīlan." (You're welcome) Steve nodded gently._

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Danny sat with his mouth parted, a frown and a face filled with both confusion and anger. "You did what?"

"I had to do something." Steve whispered.

"Yeah… you radio back in and you see if the deal could be made, or if they had a better plan… you don't just promise to hand yourself over like that." Danny snapped.

"I had a responsibility, Danny."

"And what about your responsibility to Catherine? To this baby? The responsibilities you have back here?" he replied angrily.

"When you're out there, you have to make decisions so quick you don't have time to analyze. You certainly don't have time to think about all the little details…" he paused "If you start down that road then you make mistakes."

"I'd ask you to define mistake, given my definition would be to hand yourself over as POW."

"Danny, these people are vulnerable. They don't have the backup systems that we take for granted. Kids go missing over here and you call the cops… you have all kinds of procedures that we have to find them. They have nothing. We either did something or those kids were as good as dead."

Danny sighed, looking up in an attempt to calm himself down. "So I take it this crazy idea fell through somehow… based on you sitting in front of me." He said before sitting back and folding his arms.

"That's not exactly how it went, no…" Steve replied.

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_Steve removed his weapons and armor, taking his clothing down to his boots, trousers and a tee. The bitter mountain air nipped at his skin and his body trembled with the cold but he had very little option._

_"Steve?" Lt Commander Ryan Fitzgerald said as he approached him. "I've been sent over to try and talk you out of this?"_

_Steve looked up at the man he'd known for years. They'd been in the same BUD's class and although they had gone separate ways with teams and deployments, after they graduated, they had still stayed in touch. "Not going to happen."_

_"No. That's what I figured." Ryan nodded. "And for the record, I understand why you're doing it." He sighed. "But it would be irresponsible of me to not suggest you run this through Command first…"_

_"You and I both know what they'll say Ry… doing it this way means I'm not going against orders." He nodded._

_"Alright." He nodded as he gave it some thought. "Then we'll work something out. You make the trade… get the kids clear and we'll come in for you."_

_"We don't have the time it would take to work out that kind of plan." He replied. "And without a plan it would be too risky." He shook his head and sighed. "Besides… you'll need some time to get these families out of here. If I got out before that happened, these people will come for them."_

_"Ok." Ryan nodded._

_"When the kids are clear, you need to call command, tell them what's happened, organize their evacuation. You need to make it clear to Captain Neeson that I knew what I was doing, and I accept the consequences."_

_Ryan straightened._

_"You also need to tell him that I don't want anyone coming in for me. I don't want other lives being put at risk to get me out of this, I've been down that road before and I don't want it on my conscience. If I can, I'll handle it."_

_Ryan sighed. There was no talking him out of it so he wasn't going to try. "When and where is this exchange going to happen?"_

_"Fifteen minutes… they've given me the coordinates. They agreed to let Faheem to drive me out there, and he'll bring the children back." Steve answered. "If they see anyone else they'll start shooting."_

_"Ok…" Ryan nodded._

_"Ryan… I need you to promise me you'll make sure these families will be taken care of."_

_"I promise." He replied._

_"Commander… we should go." Faheem said as he walked over._

_Ryan sighed as he looked back at Steve. "Good luck bro." he said, extending his hand out._

_Steve smacked his palm against his. "You too, buddy. Thanks…"_

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_The truck's wheels cut through the dusty road as Faheem made his way towards the meeting point. The night sky was smattered with thousands of stars, in any other place, under any other circumstances, Steve would have marveled at the sight but his mind was completely taken by what was to come._

_The dim beams of light, from the vehicles headlights, cut through the choking air ahead of them as they followed a designated sandy trail that was a road. Suddenly the thoughts of Catherine, the baby and his home started to creep in and eat away at his concentration. His focus was straying._

_"Commander…" Faheem said softly. "Tell me, why are you doing this?"_

_Steve's eyes drifted down. Thirty minutes ago he could have given a sincere and honest answer, but now he was wondering it himself. "It's my job to protect people."_

_"Your own people, yes… but no one expects you to protect us like this."_

_Steve sighed. "We came into your country and told you that we would help you… something happened tonight that placed you in harms way, through no fault of your own… I need to make it right."_

_"At such a price?" Faheem answered. "Taking the risk that you may never seeing your unborn child?"_

_Steve threw a cutting glare at the man, surprised he knew such information._

_"I overheard a conversation, before we left." Faheem replied._

_Steve rested his head back against the seat and looked out to the side of the vehicle._

_"Allah will keep you safe, guide you home. I believe in that." Faheem nodded encouragingly._

_Steve nodded gently. "Insha'allah." (God willing.) He whispered._

_Faheem nodded softly. "Yes, Insha'allah."_

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_The vehicle rumbled up to the point where the coordinates supplied had marked on the GPS._

_"Wait here…" Steve whispered as he stepped out of the vehicle and stood by the hood, looking out into the darkness for any signs of life._

_Suddenly the sound of an engine could be heard in the distance as the glow of headlights bounced around. The vehicle came into sight, coming to a halt about a hundred yards from Faheem's truck._

_Three armed men stepped out, their weapons in their hands and at the ready. They assessed the situation before one barked an order._

_Within seconds the children appeared from the back of the vehicle, instructed to line up._

_Steve raised his hands up._

_"You move slowly towards us and the children will pass you." One of the men called out._

_Steve nodded before his focus homed in on the children's faces, the fear inside of them. The two eldest clutched the two smallest. A baby and a toddler, the rest were like deer trapped in headlights, unsure of what they should be doing._

_Steve, on the other hand, had lost any shred of doubt he may have had. Now staring at the faces of the victims his resolve was clear and renewed._

_The man called out some instructions, presumably telling them to form a line and walk directly towards the vehicle. As they started, the men trained their guns on both the children and their new prisoner._

_Steve made his way towards them. He could hear the quiet whimpers of the children as they passed, their eyes burning through him with confusion. "Go slow…" he whispered. "Bi-shweesh..." Once they were past him he stepped to the side, shielding them from whatever aim the men still had._

_The children hopped up into the vehicle._

_Two of the men peeled off, grabbing Steve by the arms and pushing him down roughly on the grimy road. One knelt down on his back and pointed his handgun against his arm before firing a round. Steve yelled out in pain._

_"No!" Faheem yelled out before a second gunshot could be heard with nothing but a haunting silence to follow._

_The men turned and trained their guns on the vehicle. "Dhahaba!" one man yelled. "Go!"_

_Faheem glanced down at Steve, his motionless body on the ground. He knew he had no choice but to get out of there, he couldn't help Steve any more. The vehicle started with a roar of the engine, Faheem slammed it into gear and sped off, kicking up a wall of dust._

_The men roughly picked Steve's body up, dragging him toward the vehicle and threw him inside with no care._

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"I've got flashes of things in my memory that happened after that… but the next thing I really remember was waking up in a military base hospital, four days later." He paused. "I was found, by accident, during an unrelated British operation when they raided the camp I was being held in."

Danny raised his eye brows and sat back with disbelief.

"Faheem believed I'd been killed. That's what they wanted him to report, it lowered the risk of them sending people in to look for me." He smiled softly. "The families were evacuated, and they are in the process of seeking asylum. Hopefully in the US."

Danny raised his eyebrows. "Ok, do yourself a favor… just… don't tell Catherine any of this."

"That's the thing… all this… it's going to come out. It's not classified any more… the operation was bust… the circle of information has gotten too wide to contain it… and my actions are being reviewed."

"What does that mean?"

"My CO doesn't think they'll press charges for insubordination, given the circumstances and the outcome… but I will have to face a review board to explain myself… and that's something Catherine is going to hear about." He nodded. "It's best it comes from me."

Danny nodded. "Agreed, but this kind of story is labor inducing strength. Not to mention after you've told her she's going to want to, understandably, chase you around the house with an axe…" he said. "I was there, the morning you left, when you promised her you wouldn't take crazy risks."

Steve knew it was said in jest but he was acutely aware that this would cause friction between them at a time they were supposed to be happy.

Danny sighed. "Did it ever, just once, occur to you how hard this would have been for her if you'd been killed? If you hadn't have been rescued? She would have been raising this kid on her own. You saw what it did to your father… what it did to you."

"I know… I'm starting to understand that now." Steve closed his eyes as he leant against the table. "Everything's changed, Danny… and this baby isn't even here yet." He paused. "I was so close to pulling out of the trade when I was in the car with Faheem… because I did start thinking about her. About what this would do to her."

Danny listened sympathetically.

"I was good at my job because it never really mattered if something happened to me. I had no one depending on me." He whispered. "Nothing to lose." He sighed as he squeezed his eyes together. "I kept my distance from people, I shied away from human interaction so I didn't get close to anyone." He paused as he opened his eyes and looked at Danny. "Being on this island, being in 5-0… it changed everything… I got comfortable… let people in… start a relationship with actual feelings involved. Now I'm going to be a father… and…" he paused, pushing back the torment. "And I'm just starting to understand that I don't think I can have both… not effectively."

"Listen to me…" Danny whispered as he leant forward. "You don't have to do this anymore. You've served your country. You've done it with distinction." He paused. "We've talked about what it would take for you to step down from the SEAL's before. I know there are so many factors that make this decision a hard one you. You're worried about letting the SEAL's go because you think that's all you can be, and you think you'll lose your identity… you won't. You got your job here and you can still be a reservist in intelligence."

Steve listened carefully.

"You think it's on you to keep fighting everyone else's battles… it's not. There are other people qualified to do it." Danny thinned his lips.

"It's not just that, Danny… it's…" he paused, struggling to explain where he was heading with this. "I can't look past this responsibility I took on, that I chose to take. I've been trained to do a particular job, something only a few are qualified to do. I have an obligation to my team members, to the civilians who I am expected to help." He gritted his teeth at the thought. "If I hadn't have been there, on that operation, if it had been someone else who wasn't crazy enough to put themselves forward… those kids would have been killed." He paused. "I'm not a super hero, I'm not the only one who can do this job and who's willing to take risks… but I agreed to take on a duty to do whatever it takes. Standing down makes me feel like I'm backing out of that duty… and I can't let go of thinking of what might happen if that kind of situation happened again? What if, in a specific moment, I'm not there to pull a trigger at the right time or look at the bigger picture? How many lives will, my seemingly simple decision to walk away, will it affect?"

Danny thinned his eyes, he could see the torture in Steve's expression. It was a fixation and a guilt that was far deeper than he'd ever understood. Steve's abandonment in early life had shaped him into this person, he had thrown himself into a calling which was neatly tied off with the anonymity created by his detachment from his family. He'd justified his existence to be a machine who would sacrifice himself for the cause and for others. Did he even realize, understand and appreciate how much he was worth? Did he comprehend that, even though in his eyes he couldn't possibly understand how his death could affect anyone else, it would be a far reaching tragedy for many?

"You can't live like this…" Danny shook his head. "Focusing on what hasn't even happened, putting that kind of responsibility on yourself. People who die after you step down, civilians… team members, they're deaths are not on you because you weren't there or able to help them. That's an insane kind of survivor's guilt." he nodded. "Steve… you've made a life. You worry about losing your identity, you've made another one that's away from your past and the SEAL's, you did it all by yourself when you weren't looking. This was no accident, it was because you were subconsciously ready for it." He sighed and shrugged. "I don't know… my opinion on this is pretty straight forward… you won't find one person who doesn't think you deserve this, other than you. You, more than any of us, deserves to have someone who loves you, to get that human interaction you talk about. You're biggest enemy is yourself. You need to figure out a way to allow yourself to be happy. Focus on what's in front of you… and find a way to let the rest go."

"I don't know how to do that, Danny." Steve whispered.

Danny straightened and offered him an encouraging smile. "I'm fairly confident things will start changing the minute you hold your baby in your arms for the first time."

Steve's eyes drifted down, he'd always heard Danny talk about that moment but he'd never believed something so small could have so much power. Now, given the emotions he'd felt on the mission, he thought there may just be something to it. He nodded gently, carefully allowing himself to believe in the possibility.

"Just for the record… you pull a stunt like that trade again, and I find out about it… I'll shoot you myself." Danny nodded.

Steve broke a broad smile as he picked his beer up and drank.

"Lunatic." Danny snarled with disapproval. "You know that, right?"

**Authors Note: I apologize in advance if there are any problems with the Arabic in this fic. It was a little ambitious but I thought I would give it a go. Thank you so much for the response I have had about this fic, it's been amazing. Hope you liked the second chapter. More to come...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Two days later…**

Danny knocked heavily on the front door to Steve's house. He turned, glancing at Steve's truck parked out front. "Steve?" he called out as he walked down the lanai, cupping his hands over his eyes and peering through the window for any sign. He sighed and stepped down, walking around the side of the house and down the garden towards the ocean.

Steve waded out of the water, up the sand, towards the chairs where a towel was hanging.

"Hey, yo… aqua man…" Danny called out.

"Hey…" Steve smiled with a nod. "What's going on?"

"I thought you were supposed to be at PT this morning." he asked.

"I figured swimming was just as good as a session of PT." Steve replied.

"Swimming? With that shoulder?" Danny pushed his hands in his pockets. "That a good idea?"

"Need to get some strength back, I start back at work on Monday…" Steve replied before rubbing the towel over his face and hair. "The salt water is good for healing anyway."

"Back at work on Monday? Hu…" Danny nodded with curiosity. "You know you have a whole heap of sick leave you could be using, spending time with Catherine before the baby comes."

Steve denied him of any kind of reaction as he started to walk back to the house.

"Oh… I see…" Danny called it. "You're avoiding her?"

"I'm not avoiding her." Steve replied defensively before pausing. "I admit things are a little awkward between us right now… but it's nothing to worry about."

"Awkward…"

Steve stopped and turned to Danny.

"I guess that happens when she suspects her partner is keeping some gigantic secret from her." Danny shrugged. "But you're right… it's nothing to worry about. Awkward is way better than the alternative, her feeling all warm and homicidal."

Steve gritted his teeth, thinning his lips into a forced smile filled with frustration. "Did you come here just to bust my balls or was there actually a reason?"

"No there was a reason." Danny nodded. "I've forgotten it because I just remembered how much fun tormenting you can be." He smiled with satisfaction. "It's nice… like an old friend."

"Danny, focus…" Steve replied impatiently, though equally amused, pressing his hand against his wounded shoulder. "What do you want?"

"So, Chin and I were talking this afternoon and we realized the importance of a guys night out before you report to baby duties." Danny nodded. "A beer shower."

"A beer shower?" Steve nodded, folding his arms across his chest and grinning.

"Yeah you like the name? I thought of that." Danny answered

"It's very good." he nodded.

"So… me, you, Chin... Lou and few of the others, we go out, grab a couple of beers, have some laughs…"

"I don't know, Danny." Steve shook his head.

"I already cleared it with Cath, she Amber and Kono are going to see a movie, she's in great hands."

Steve grinned, the idea was suddenly appealing.

"You like the idea, right?" Danny nodded.

"I do like the idea."

"Chin's going to pick us up, drop us back, it's going to be great."

"What time?" Steve asked.

"Be ready at 8."

"Got it…" Steve nodded as he turned and walked back to the house. "You want a drink?"

"No, I have to get back to the crime fighting… someone has to keep this island safe." Danny replied. "Don't forget to dress sharp."

"Later, Danno." Steve grinned, throwing his hand up to wave.

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Lou, Steve, Chin, Max, Kamekona and Flippa were sat around a large table at the Tiki Bar and Grill as they sipped on beers and chatted.

Danny made a beeline for the table with a handful of drinks in his hand, placing them down on the table before dishing two whisky's out to Steve and serving the rest out to the others.

"Are you trying to take advantage of me Danny?" Steve frowned at the amber filled glasses.

"I think so… they look like doubles." Chin smirked and nodded.

"In four weeks' time, when you're knee deep in diapers and baby spew, you will look back and remember this moment fondly. Trust me." Danny nodded as he slumped down in the chair.

"And so to do that you're advocating binge drinking. That's highly irresponsible." Steve nodded.

"Really? You're going to start on me about irresponsibility?" Danny glared at him with disgust.

Steve grinned before he leant forward and scooped one of the glasses up into his hand, throwing the liquid back into his mouth. He placed the glass down on the table, wincing as the familiar burn slid down his throat.

Danny smiled with pride.

"I remember the day we bought Samantha home…" Lou started. "She cried all the way to the house… in fact, it felt like she didn't stop crying for the next two years."

"Grace was the same." Danny nodded. "Then they get into those frustrated months where they know their feet have a purpose but they don't know how to use them."

"Uh-hu… then you're in to the terrible two's which seems to span out two decades." Lou replied. "But it is something special when you finally see what your kids look like, and watch them grow with their personalities."

"Let's hope it not only looks more like its mother but it's personality is Catherine's." Danny nodded.

"Even if it does take after Catherine, any child of McGarrett's is going to come out with cargo pants on and a gun holster." Kamekona nodded. "It's a given."

Steve grinned.

"Come on… drink!" Danny pushed as he handed Steve the second glass.

Steve leant forward, exhaling a deep breath as he braced himself for the taste and the unsteady feeling that would shortly follow. He grabbed the glass and knocked the alcohol back.

"Nice…" Danny patted him on the back before nodding to Chin who discreetly stood up and walked over to the bar.

"I was confused, when we left the house… the girls were waving a ring on a piece of string over the baby." Steve frowned. "What's that about?"

"The ring test. It's a wives tale…" Max nodded. "If the ring swings in a circular direction it means you're having a boy, if it swings like a pendulum it's a girl."

"I remember they did it at Rachel's baby shower." Danny nodded as he swigged his beer. "Had me convinced I was getting a boy."

"The wives tale states it should be a wedding ring anyway." Max added. "And since Catherine doesn't have one of those…"

"Oh, oh, oh!" Danny cheered with amusement.

"That's a touchy subject right there, Max." Lou nodded.

"What more can I do? I've asked, she doesn't want to get married." Steve answered putting his hands up in defeat.

"It's certainly not through lack of trying, I can agree with you there. Maybe fourth time will be the charm." Danny nodded. "I don't blame her though… marrying you… that would take some serious considering."

"Wow… you're a little bitch tonight, you know that?" Steve nodded with a smirk.

"So what do you want it to be Steve?" Lou asked. "The baby…"

Steve sipped on a beer. "Healthy, Lou... just healthy."

"I hear ya." Lou said as he raised his bottle and leant forward, tapping it against Steve's.

Chin stepped over, placing another two glasses of whisky down on the table in front of Steve. The others cheered.

Steve smirked. "What is this? What are you trying to do to me?"

"Shut up and drink." Danny nodded.

"Are you going to explain this to Catherine?"

"Sure, I'll handle Catherine… don't worry about it. She loves me." Danny replied.

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Catherine opened the door and sighed as she was greeted by Danny propping Steve up. "You got to be kidding me."

"He had a little more than we thought." Danny said nervously.

"I'm not drunk." Steve raised his head and slurred.

"Danny, he's still taking medication for his wounds." Catherine shook her head, trying not to laugh at the pair.

"Ok, that totally explains why he's been such a light weight." Danny nodded. "You want him on the couch?"

"No… the spare room…" Catherine answered with mild frustration. "I'll get a bucket."

Danny walked Steve over to the stairs and helped him up to the room, letting him fall onto the bed face down.

"Danny…" Steve said drunkenly. "I had a great night tonight…"

"Me too buddy…" Danny nodded. "I'll call you in the morning."

"Love you Danno." Steve slurred.

"You too pal." Danny replied as he tried to sneak out of the room before Catherine appeared.

"Where do you think you're going?" Catherine asked as she emerged clutching a bucket.

"I was going to start walking home. Give you two some space." Danny nodded, his tone sounding like he was doing them some kind of favor.

"I don't think so…" Catherine smirked. "You're gonna stay here… and in the morning when he's throwing up everywhere, you're going to deal with it." She nodded. "You understand?"

Danny winced at the thought. "Right."

"Cath… the bed is spinning." Steve whimpered, muffled by his face being buried into the sheets.

"He's all yours." Catherine handed Danny the bucket and patted him on the chest.

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He didn't know what had woken him, but something had jolted him from his sleep. Steve opened his eyes carefully, allowing them to adjust to work out where he was.

"Steve!" a voice cried out.

He frowned, it sounded like Catherine but why did she sound so far away?

"Steve!" she called out again.

He was startled, suddenly lifting his head to be greeted with a pounding sensation behind his eyes. He groaned, clasping his brow with his hand.

"Steve!" the voice repeated, only this time with much more urgency.

He jumped to his feet, ignoring the thud in his head long enough to start moving to the door. As he got out of the room he looked down the hallway. "Catherine?" he called out.

"In the bedroom." She replied before screaming in pain.

He burst through the door, a small lamp in the corner providing enough light to set the scene. Catherine leaning over the chest of draws. "What is it?"

"I'm getting pain… and I mean unbelievable pain… every two minutes… so you tell me?"

"The baby? No… it can't come yet. Danny said they never come early."

"Well no shock that any baby of yours is not wanting to play by Danny's rules." She nodded. "It's coming, so can you please… please… call an ambulance?"

"Ok…" he nodded, suddenly scared frozen. "Call an ambulance?" he questioned. "Where's your cell phone?" he said as he scoured the room.

"Downstairs… in the kitchen." She said as she straightened her back, making most of the time between contractions.

"Where's my cell phone?" He questioned as he patted himself down.

Catherine glared at him, a look that could kill.

"It's ok. I got this…" he fumbled for the door and back out, almost falling down the stairs.

"Steve?" Danny pushed back the blanket as he lifted his head up. "You alright?"

"Danny… the baby." Was all he could get out.

"What?" Danny sat up with shock. "The baby's coming?" he questioned.

"Call 9-1-1." Steve nodded. "I got to go back up with her."

"Alright, I got it." Danny nodded as he reached out his cell and started to dial.

"Wait, Danny… what if the ambulance doesn't get here in time? You'll have to deliver the baby."

"Me?" Danny choked.

"Yeah." Steve nodded like it was a no brainer.

"Why me?"

"They teach you that kind of stuff in cop school? Right?" Steve rationalized. "You see it on the news all the time."

"No… they don't." Danny protested. "Didn't they teach you about it in SEAL school? You're the one with all the First Aid training."

"Combat First Aid, Danny… none of my guys were a high risk of going into labor on the front line so I guess they skipped that page." Steve snapped.

"Then if the ambulance doesn't get here in time, you're just going to have to do your best." Danny answered. "By yourself."

"Call the ambulance… put a rush on it." Steve replied urgently before he bounded back up the stairs. "You alright?" Steve asked Catherine as he ran back into the bedroom, the panic evident in his eyes.

Catherine nodded, working through her breathing to prepare herself for the next mountain of pain.

Steve started to laugh nervously. "This is really it?"

"I hope so…" she gasped as she felt another contraction start. "Because if this is just pregnancy pains then pregnancy officially sucks." She nodded before leaning back over the chest of draws again.

**H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50  
****  
Tripler Army Medical Centre…**

Steve sat outside the room, his arms resting against his knees as he looked around anxiously.

"Hey…" Danny called out as he appeared through the doors. "What's going on?"

"They're just checking her. Said it wouldn't be long." Steve nodded as he squeezed his eyes closed tightly.

"You alright?" Danny asked.

Steve sighed. "I hate seeing her like that, in so much pain." He whispered.

Danny nodded, he remembered that feeling well.

Steve fidgeted, tapping his foot impatiently on the ground. His face shrouded with apprehension.

"Would you stop? You're no good to her like this."

"This, what you're seeing right now, this is sheer terror…" Steve nodded. "I'm petrified, Danny."

"Seriously?" Danny frowned with surprise.

Steve nodded, but was totally distracted by his thoughts.

"You should be excited… in an hour's time you're probably going to be a father."

"Ok… enough." He nodded. "Please. You're not helping."

The door opened and a nurse appeared. "Commander McGarrett?" she said looking at Danny.

"No, that's him." Danny pointed as Steve stood up.

"Sir, we're taking Catherine down to the OR, she's going to need an emergency C-Section. The doctor wanted me to tell you that there's no cause for concern right now but the baby's stats are a little off."

"What does that mean?" Steve asked.

"The baby is showing mild signs of distress… like I said, it's not serious at the moment but it's better to act before things escalate."

"Ok…" Steve nodded. "Catherine? Is she ok?"

"She's doing just fine. You can follow her down and we'll get you ready." The nurse nodded helpfully. "They're just administering the spinal block. You can be with her if you like?"

"Thank you." Steve nodded.

"Thanks…" Danny said softly then looked up to Steve. "The baby is going to be fine, Catherine is going to be fine, you are going to take a deep breath, go in there and you're going to be fine too. Ok?"

"Yeah…" Steve whispered.

"Deep breath." Danny coached him.

Steve filled his lungs and then exhaled.

"That's it… now go." Danny patted him on the arm.

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Something had clicked inside of Steve after his talk with Danny. He didn't know if it was his friends mentoring or if his mind had finally just kicked in to drive. His nerves were steady and his demeanor calm. He sat at the head of the bed in the large surgical suite and placed his hand on Catherine's head. "You're doing great, Cath…" he whispered from behind a surgical mask.

"When you think about how the birth is going to be… you never expect it to be like this." She said softly.

"It doesn't matter how it is, just as long as you're both ok." He nodded.

"Ok Catherine, you're going to feel some pressure and some tugging while we get the baby out… it's all normal." The doctor declared from beyond the blue sheet that shielded her face. "You ready?"

"Yeah…" Catherine whispered nervously. "Steve…" she said softly as she opened her hand.

He rested his hand in hers and gripped it tightly.

She closed her eyes.

A few moments later she felt the sensation stop and the medical staff bustled around the room. "What's happening?" Catherine asked.

"It's a boy…" The doctor announced.

Steve choked with happiness. "A boy, Cath."

Catherine laughed with happiness but the silence became disconcerting. "Why isn't he crying, Steve?"

Steve looked up, toward the crib in which they had placed the little boy. The nurses buzzing around his tiny frame.

"Steve…" Catherine snapped quietly.

He could see the looks they were giving each other, though it was only their eyes he had become unnerved. "They're just fixing him up." He said. What else could he tell her?

"Something's wrong." Catherine nodded. "Something is wrong with him."

Steve found himself holding his breath, willing for the baby boy to give them what they wanted to hear. "Listen… everything is fine…" he said encouragingly with a tone that could had himself believing it if he couldn't see more. "They got him under those warm lamps, he probably hasn't realized he's out yet." He nodded. "He's fine."

One of the nurses sucked mucus out of the baby's mouth whilst the other rubbed a towel heavily over his legs.

"Come on…" Catherine whispered. "Come on…"

"Cath… You're still in the middle of surgery, relax. You need to trust me when I say they've got things under control over there, you just need to lie back." He said encouragingly.

It seemed like an eternity before the sound they had been waiting for echoed out. A loud cry.

Steve laughed with relief as he brushed Catherine's brow. "You hear that?"

"Yeah…" Catherine smiled, a tear escaping from her eye.

"What did I say? He's fine." He nodded.

"Oh thank god…" Catherine whispered.

"You did it… I'm so proud of you." He gushed as he pulled down his surgical mask and kissed her softly on the head. "So proud of you Cath."

"Here he is…" A nurse said as she brought the little boy over, wrapped in a blanket, and placed him down on Catherine's chest.

Catherine lifted her head to get a better view. He seemed calmer now he was secure in his blanket. She laughed again with disbelief. "Hey little man."

"He's incredible." Steve whispered in awe. "Just incredible, Cath." He shook his head as his eyes misted up.

"We have to take him away for a little bit… get him weighed, cleaned up and checked out." the nurse nodded.

"I want you to go with him." Catherine turned to Steve. "Can he go with him?" she asked the nurse.

"Absolutely." The nurse nodded.

"What? I'm not leaving you. Not right now." Steve shook his head.

"I'm going to be a little longer in here, then I have to go to recovery for a while anyway… one of us should be with him. Please, Steve… go with him." She begged.

"Ok…" he whispered, though still uncertain.

The nurse placed the little boy down in the crib again and then turned to Steve. "Sir, are you coming?"

"Yeah…" he nodded. "I love you…" he whispered, kissing her on the lips.

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"Danny?" Chin answered his cell whilst driving in the car with Kono by his side.

"Hey… so we have a boy… Jack Connor McGarrett."

"What?" Chin coughed as he glanced at Kono. "What happened?"

"Well, after I convinced Steve that babies didn't come this early… dosed him up on alcohol, it was inevitable." Danny nodded. "Three o'clock this morning…"

"Was Steve even functional?" Chin frowned.

"Actually he did great, all things considering." Danny nodded.

Kono smiled as she glanced at Chin. "That's great news, Danny. Catherine and the baby ok?"

"Catherine's doing great, it was an emergency C-Section so she's going to be taking it easy for a couple of days. The baby was in some distress, turns out he had the cord around his neck. They've had him in the NICU for a couple of hours, just to monitor him, but they said he was doing better than a lot of babies born without complications."

"Typical McGarrett." Chin nodded.

"The boss ok?" Kono asked.

Danny grinned. "It all happened so fast, I don't think it's fully sunk in with him yet."

"Listen… Kono and I are heading out for breakfast with some family. We'll call you after and see if they are up for visitors." Chin nodded.

"Sounds good. I'll speak to you soon." Danny nodded.

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"You look tired." Catherine whispered to Steve as she looked at him.

"I'm fine." He said sitting beside the bed, stroking back her hair. "You did all the work. I haven't done anything."

"That's not true." Catherine shook her head. "You knew something was going on when they got him out… in those first few minutes, that something wasn't right." She continued. "But you didn't show it… you kept me calm."

His eyes drifted down. "Regardless of how much you think you don't need protecting from some things… sometimes, in some moments, you do… and it's my job to do that."

She knew his explanation had a double meaning. "I understand that now…" she whispered.

Steve smiled softly.

"Ok… Jack McGarrett is so eager to be with mommy and daddy he's passed all his tests and he's free from NICU…" a nurse said as she gently wheeled a crib into the room.

Catherine and Steve held their gaze on the tiny baby as he neared. A smile creeping over Steve's lips.

"Who's up first for cuddles?"

"Cath…" Steve answered with no hesitation.

The nurse picked up the tiny bundle and carefully handed him to Catherine. Steve watched carefully.

"We're going to be checking his obs every thirty minutes." The nurse nodded. "He's all clean and fed, so enjoy." She continued before walking out the door.

Steve smiled at Catherine, the confidence she had holding the boy, talking to him, seemed to be instinctual for her and come so naturally. "He's got your eyes… and ears…" he said softly as he rested his head against hers on the pillow and looked at his perfect little features.

"He's got your lips… and determination."

Steve grinned. "Could be a good thing or a bad thing."

"Mmmm." Catherine smirked.

Steve paused before he beamed with an overwhelming amount of pride. "A baby, Cath…" he said as it suddenly dawned on him. Overjoyed at the idea.

She smiled, thankful that his happiness seemed hard for him to contain.

**Authors Note: Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews, really appreciate it and glad you are liking the story. Hope it continues to impress.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Steve had sunk back into the chair beside Catherine's bed a while ago. She had been sleeping for about an hour, finally the exhaustion had caught up to her and the adrenaline had worn off. Steve felt the same but something had been keeping him going to this point. Perhaps that he found it hard to take his eyes off his son who had been sleeping peacefully in his crib.

He repositioned himself in the chair, the dull ache that he seemed to have in his injured shoulder had progress to a more intense throbbing in the past few hours and he was finding it uncomfortable no matter what position he rested his arm in. He stood up and crept to the restroom in the private hospital room that Catherine had been put in.

As he stood in front of the mirror he pulled down the collar to his tee, peeling back the dressing and noticed the skin around the wound looked more discolored than it had done before. The lacerations, where the bullets had ripped through his flesh, had been taking longer to heal than usual but they had given him no cause for concern, until now. He could see the wounds were weeping slightly, the discharge of blood and fluid evident on the gauze.

Suddenly he heard quiet whimpers, at first he didn't recognize the sound until he reminded himself where he was and why he was there. It was Jack. He hurried out of the restroom and walked over to the crib as Jack looked up at him. He smiled but his presence didn't seem to be enough to pacify the baby.

Steve was eager to let Catherine have some more rest, but now he was in his own dilemma. He hadn't held Jack yet, and he was nervous about doing it alone. He shook his head with the irony that something so small and fragile could be so intimidating to him. He sighed, talking himself around in his head, placing his hand carefully under the baby's shoulders and using his fingers to support his neck, scooping his lower body up with the other hand and cautiously moving his son into his arms.

"It's ok…" he whispered. "It's alright…"

If there had been any discomfort from pain, in his arm and shoulder, he hadn't noticed it. He was totally taken in the moment. His little boy closed his eyes and nestled into his arm. Steve felt the breath leave his lungs, the moment surreal.

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Joe appeared through the arrivals gate at the airport, clutching a medium sized bag and his ticket in his hand. He spotted his contact through the crowd of happy holiday makers and reuniting family and friends. Unlike everyone else, he didn't have that warm and fuzzy feeling about being back in O'ahu and the face he saw certainly wasn't one he was happy to see.

"Special Agent Reyes…" Joe extended his arm, though his demeanor was cool.

"It's good to see you, Joe." The man, in his early 40's, nodded as he returned the gesture.

Joe knew that was most defiantly a lie, but when the man had called and asked for his help he was prepared to forget their rocky past and try to move forward. Especially under the circumstances. "You want to tell me exactly what this is about?"

"Yes. But not here." He shook his head. "Come on…"

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It was late in the afternoon when Catherine woke up. She opened her eyes and smiled at Steve who was still cradling Jack in his arms as he sat in the large chair beside her bed. He was oblivious to anything around him.

"Hey…" she whispered.

He snapped from his trance and looked up at her, forcing a smile on his lips but really he was filled with sadness. "Hey… how you feeling?"

"Good…" she winced as she pushed herself up. "How's Jack?"

"He's perfect." Steve answered softly as he looked back at his son's face.

Catherine frowned as she studied Steve's expression for a while, she knew him well and could tell that something was haunting him. "Steve, what's wrong?"

He froze for a moment before carefully standing up and resting Jack back in his crib. "We need to talk. I need to tell you what happened on my deployment."

She sighed, nodding gently. "Ok…" she answered softly.

He perched himself back down on the seat, leaning forward against his knees as he tried desperately to string the words together.

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After he'd finished explaining the story about the children and what he chose to do, he found it difficult to offer her eye contact. He could sense she was upset, and rightly so, but the idea of letting her down in such a way seemed even more painful to him now she knew. He swallowed the lump in the back of his throat. "Say something…"

She winced bitterly, closing her eyes enough to push out the well of tears that had formed. "I'm not sure I should."

"Catherine, you have to understand… I did what I thought was right at the time. Do I think it was right now?" he paused. "I don't know."

"You could have been kept prisoner for months… years… or worse still, they could have killed you."

"I know that…" he whispered.

"Right. So do you know where would that have left me? Left Jack?"

Steve's eyes drifted down.

She sighed. "I knew what I signed up for when things got serious between us. I've always known the kind of man you are, the soldier you are… I'm not shocked that you risked your own life to save someone's children… you've done exactly the same thing before, when you were in Iraq." She paused. "I'm upset with the idea that you put them before your own family, knowing that the outcome was letting those people take you… and that no one would be coming to help you. Knowing that we wouldn't be told what had happened to you." She paused. "You thought you'd lost your mom, you had answers… maybe not the right ones but they were answers you could live with. I wouldn't have known if you were alive or dead. I would have had to live like that."

"Cath, I'm sorry." He whispered.

She paused for a moment before glaring into his eyes. "You should go…" she whispered. "You should go home and get some sleep."

"Cath…" he started, shaking his head.

"Steve…" she cut him off, her tone harsher than he was used to hearing. She paused as she contained her emotions. "I need some time to work this through. I can't do that with you here, and that sounds terrible, I know… but you have to understand."

He tightened his jaw, he did understand but it didn't make it easier to accept. "You know I love you, right?" his face filled with panic, an irrational anxiety invaded his mind which he couldn't control. He felt suddenly alarmed that he was watching Catherine slip away from him. "The last thing I want is for this to come between us… I don't want to lose you, either of you. I can't."

She thinned her lips into a bitter smile. "But it's completely acceptable for us to lose you… as long as it's on your terms? Steve… please… just go." She begged. "Just… just go. Before one of us says something we can't take back."

His eyes glistened with tears, he nodded gently. "Ok…" he whispered reluctantly. He stood up, exhaling loudly. "I'll call you in the morning."

She turned away, not offering him any response.

He hovered for a moment, wishing he could just say something that would ease her anger or that she would suddenly have a change of heart but neither came. He turned and headed slowly out of the door without a word.

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Joe and Reyes entered the hotel room on the 15th floor. A small table by the window had a laptop and paper spread out over it, as did the bed. Joe scanned the scene, immediately knowing that what Reyes had called him for was not only of the official nature but was much more serious than he'd appreciated. He stood by the door as Reyes grabbed a couple of notes and organized them neatly. "You read through the briefing notes I sent you?"

"I did… I'm still none the wiser." Joe replied as he dropped his bag down and folded his arms over his chest. "It gave me no clue as to what a mission Steve McGarrett led is now subject of an NCIS investigation?"

"Officially it's got nothing to do with NCIS. I'm running with this on my own." Reyes responded.

"Running with what?" Joe shrugged.

Reyes sighed as he sat down at the table. "Before you read the notes, had you ever heard of the organization, ASENTH?"

Joe frowned. "I knew it was private military contractor running out of Sacramento. That they provide mercenaries and equipment for smaller details in conflict areas."

Reyes nodded. "Their CEO, Elis Gilroy, signed one of the main contracts with the US Government to supply men and resources in small pockets of the Middle East where it wasn't practical or effective to have military presence." He said. "Only ten months ago, a covert investigation into ASENTH, triggered by an off the books inquiry, showed evidence that they were brokering weapons to the other side for a substantial cost." He paused. "Weapons which would provide certain cells of enemy combatants with enough fire power to match coalition forces."

Joe nodded.

"The person who uncovered this Intel was Lt Jake Matheson, he's a friend of mine… came to me with his concerns. Turns out he also worked under McGarrett back when he was in Navy Intel and he's been doing some research for Steve for the past 13 months, into a body found in Cambodia."

"Lei Kwan Fat…" Joe answered, he didn't know why he was so surprised that Steve had kept this investigation running.

Reyes nodded. "Steve approached Matheson in the beginning to look into the name, James Cobb." He glared at Joe. "You ever heard of him?"

"Doesn't sound familiar."

"He's ex CIA and was Doris McGarrett's lead agent. Steve had identified him as mastermind behind the building explosion, he and his partner were trapped in, and a key player in the death of Lei Kwan Fat. Matheson dug around and also learnt that Cobb, not only worked with Gilroy in South East Asia at the time of the death, but he also had a significant share and a position on the board of directors at ASENTH." He sighed as he leant back against the chair. "Matheson also found out that a few years back, a classified investigation was launched into claims ASENTH was brokering weapons to insurgents in the Middle East… a senior employee came forward with his concerns but the investigation never gained momentum after the witness was believed to have committed suicide."

"Convenient." Joe pushed his hands into his pockets.

"Right?" Reyes nodded. "With what I have here, I think given a few more weeks, McGarrett and Matheson were on track to expose whatever these guys are hiding in regards to Lei Kwan Fat's murder. My guess is it would have implicated Gilroy, and along with the evidence they were brokering it would have brought a multibillion dollar contractor like ASENTH down and identified leaks within defense. That kind of revelation would had massive repercussions. We are talking about the possibility of a US contractor supplying weapons to insurgents, weapons that were more than likely killing and injuring both US and other coalition soldiers as well as civilians."

"So that's ASENTH. I get Steve's involvement in the investigation, but how exactly do they tie to mission he was on?"

"He was specifically drafted for this assignment. The file says it was because of an operation he led in North Africa six years ago. There was nothing that showed any relevance except intelligence gathering, of which the Navy had enough matches. Matheson looked into it more, he managed to recover and decrypt emails, off the ASENTH server, that look like they came from someone within defense, prior to McGarrett's draft."

"Do we know who in defense?" Joe shrugged with interest.

"Not yet, whoever it was they covered their tracks well." Reyes shook his head before handing over some paperwork. "What I can tell you is that McGarrett's entire service history was declassified and sent over to Gilroy. That makes me believe that Gilroy's contact had to be someone with high level clearance and clout. The discussion eventually flagged another operation that Steve took part in, in Fallujah, at a school."

"Fallujah?" Joe frowned. "That wasn't an operation. It was by accident that Steve and his unit were involved in that incident." He said as he sat down on the end of the bed. "Our unit was acclimatizing, we'd just arrived in the region, so we were ordered to head out on a patrol. They kept me back for a briefing, so Steve took charge." He nodded as he recounted the story. "They were about 400 yards from a village when a group of people flagged them down. Insurgents had taken control of the school, where there were twenty or so young boys being held hostage. The insurgents wanted to use the village as an enemy stronghold… the people who lived there didn't want it, so to convince them, the insurgents took hostage of the children and started to kill them." He paused. "Steve contacted command, asked for authorization to go in but it was denied due to them not being adequately equipped for an operation like that." He paused. "The team could hear the gunshots… and they knew they couldn't walk on by. They decided that only two of them should go against orders… they believed their team still had an objective to carry out there and that couldn't be done if they were all taken out… it was easier to replace two men than a whole unit should things go wrong. Steve and another guy, Lt Bradley Taylor, decided to go in while the rest of them secured the perimeter."

Reyes had read the official report to what happened, but Joe's recount made it so much more personal, he wanted to hear it.

"They took down 8 men… but they weren't in time to save all the kids. Four were already dead. Seven were injured. One… a boy, Adeem, only three years old. He had only gone into the school to see his brother just before the attack… he had a gunshot wound to his head but was still conscious. Steve and Brad had both been wounded, but Brad kept tending to the injured kids and Steve kept hold of Adeem, until the medevac chopper came in. He kept talking to him, he refused to let him go… carried him out and into the helicopter…" Joe's voice tapered. "But just as they were about to land at the field hospital, Adeem died in his arms." He paused. "I met the helicopter as it came in… I remember Steve walking towards me with this tiny and lifeless body in his arms. Adeem was clutching a stuffed toy, soaked in blood, just like he was hugging it."

Reyes' eyes drifted down.

"There was a darkness in Steve's eyes, it had shaken him to the core, I knew it had reminded him again how helpless he could be. Truth was those boys dying, at that point in his life, impacted him much more than it probably would have before."

"Because of his own personal loss a couple of months before the deployment?"

Joe thinned his lips with sadness. "That's in there, huh?" he whispered with unease.

"Steve mentioned it in the debrief…" Reyes nodded sympathetically. "He also justified going against orders stating he wasn't willing to have the blood of any children on his hands." He said softly.

Joe sighed, the recollection had brought back tough times of which he was eager to move on from. "I still don't see how this incident ties into drafting Steve for this op."

"This mission to identify and secure enemy stockades was legitimate, it had been on the books for some time, but like I said… there were at least a dozen people qualified to take control, half of them were already in the Middle East at the time…" He nodded. "I think that he was deliberately drafted to be set up out there. And I think Gilroy played a hand in it, with the help of his insider. Maybe, somehow, Gilroy was tipped off that Steve was on to him."

Joe frowned.

"They used McGarrett's service file to identify a weakness, stage a location where they could set up the scenario with the kids… and present him with a situation he couldn't walk away from. A situation they knew he wouldn't walk away from."

"That's one hell of a theory." Joe raised his eyebrows. "If they wanted Steve silenced then why not just do it without the elaborate plan? Why not take him out here? And why risk keeping him alive? "

"If he'd been taken out on the streets of Honolulu it would have been investigated, more than likely by his own team. They would dig around until they found what Matheson found. As far as I can tell, they still don't have any clue that Matheson is onto them, or that we've uncovered this information. If he was taken in the Middle East, during an unsanctioned trade, there wouldn't be any investigation. He would just treated as collateral damage. If there was an investigation it could easily be contained internally, especially if Gilroy is in the ear of a high ranking official. Doing it this way meant Gilroy thought he would get rid of McGarrett and probably made money by offering the insurgents a high value hostage, which they would have eventually killed." Reyes shrugged. "Win win."

"Except it didn't work out." Joe shrugged.

"Right... and now I believe they will be coming for him again." He nodded. "Only this time Gilroy will be getting desperate… and more than likely he will take Steve down any way he can."

"Steve needs to be warned."

"I agree, but I worry that Steve will try to handle this himself, and that would place him in even more danger."

Joe frowned. "Alright… maybe I can call his team… make them aware. Catherine is in Tripler at the moment with their baby. I think we should place some security around them for now."

"I think that would be wise." He nodded.

Joe sighed as he glared at Reyes. "Why are you doing this? Why would you go behind official lines to help Steve out?"

"I don't know him well, but I do owe him, big time, after an incident in Johannesburg."

Joe nodded. "And me? Why me?"

"Look, Joe… I know our past has been rocky… we've gone up against each other once or twice, when I've investigated men in your team. I know I am the last person you would want to be working with and if I could do this alone I would. The truth is I can't… and I can't turn to anyone else. I know your relationship with McGarrett, I knew you'd want to help him and I know I can trust you because of this."

Joe paused for a moment to process his plea. He finally nodded. "Alright." He whispered. "So what do we do?"

Reyes sighed. "We finish what Steve and Matheson have started… complete gathering the evidence, use that to expose ASENTH and Gilroy… make public whatever they are connected to… and we go after the leak inside."

"Ok…" Joe replied.

Reyes sighed with relief. "We'll start first thing in the morning… give you a chance to read through my notes… see if you can pick up on anything I've missed." He paused as he looked at his watch. "Meet back here at 0630hrs?"

Joe nodded before picking up his bag again. "I'll be here. And I'll contact Danny and Tripler about security."

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Steve sat on a chair outside the front of the hospital, under cover from the torrential rain that fell. His hand clasped tightly around a take away cup of coffee that was still full but had long gone cold. His eyes pierced into the night, glaring into nothingness. He'd wanted to move but he didn't know where to go.

The noise of the rain had masked the familiar rumble of Danny's car approaching.

Danny sighed as he saw Steve's forlorn expression as the car pulled up with Amber behind the wheel.

"You sure I should take the car? What if he doesn't want the company?" Amber asked.

"He doesn't have a choice."

"Ok, but… you told me this story on the way here, and all I've got from you is how you didn't think he should have told Catherine."

"I didn't say that. I said there was a time and a place and he should have left it a little longer." He replied in defense. "When I was married to Rachel, I learnt when that time and a place was."

She glared at him.

"What?" He asked.

"How's that relationship working for you now?" she shrugged.

He sighed.

"Danny… one of the things I love being with you, is your ability to tell everyone like it is according to the Williams rules of life. I also know how you and Steve can just never resist the opportunity to let the other one know when you feel something stupid has been done. What I'm saying is that he doesn't look like he wants to hear that right now, and that you could come at this from a point of understanding for a change."

"Understanding?" Danny frowned, as if it was a completely foreign concept that had little place in his and Steve's relationship.

"Yeah, just being a friend without the 'I told you so' attitude." Amber nodded.

Danny's frown deepened before he shrugged. "I'll give it a shot, but I can't promise anything." He nodded.

"All I ask." She nodded.

"I'll see you later." He said as he kissed Amber goodbye and hopped out before she pulled away. Even his mumbling, cursing the weather as he ran under the shelter, where Steve was lost in his thoughts, seemed to go unnoticed. Danny stood next to his friend, pushing his hands into his pockets. "When Catherine told you to go home, I'm pretty certain she meant home… where your house is."

Steve looked up to him and sighed.

"You look like crap by the way." Danny nodded. "So you told her."

"Danny... I don't want to talk about it." He shook his head.

"Ok…" he nodded as he sat down next to his friend, allowing a comfortable and lengthy silence to descend between them.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Steve asked eventually.

"Catherine called me, said something had happened and she wanted me to check up on you. I tracked your cell because I knew you wouldn't go home."

Steve nodded.

"Ok, so here's what's happening. I'm going inside to grab a coffee, then we're going to head back to my place, crack a couple of beers… and we'll come back here in the morning."

"Danny…" Steve shook his head in protest.

"So what's the alternative? You sit here all night? That's going to achieve what?" he replied. "For once, just do what everyone else wants you to do." Danny nodded.

Steve sighed as he scoped the surroundings, he shrugged. "Fine."

"Two minutes and don't even think about disappearing." Danny nodded before walking inside.

Steve sighed as he rested his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

"McGarrett?" a voice called. "Steve?"

He looked around to the doors and noticed a familiar face. "Ryan." He said, standing up with a smile and shaking the man's hand.

"Man, it is to see you on home soil." Lt Commander Ryan Fitzgerald said. "When you went off with Faheem, I got to be honest… I didn't think you'd get out of there."

"Pure luck." Steve nodded.

"Yeah. It was." Ryan replied.

"Do you know what happened to Faheem and his family?" Steve asked.

"Nah, man. We were shipped out almost as soon as we landed from the mission. They came back to the base with us, but from there… I don't know."

Steve nodded with concern. He would have to look into it. "So what are you doing here in O'ahu?"

"I have been transferred to Yokosuka… had to pick up my orders from Pearl." He nodded. "One of the guys from my old unit, grew up in O'ahu, was hit by an IED a couple of months back in Kabul. Thought I would visit him while I was here."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Steve nodded sincerely.

"Ah he's doing ok." He nodded. "We all get it's a occupational hazard, right?"

"Yeah…" Steve whispered.

"So… Japan here I come."

"Welcome to the Seventh Fleet, buddy." Steve patted him on the arm.

"So what's your story?" Ryan asked.

Steve shuffled nervously. "Catherine and I had a baby boy this morning."

"Man, that's awesome." His demeanor suddenly changed, as if he'd been reminded of something. "I'm happy for you Steve… you deserve it… especially after what you and Leah went through."

Danny stepped back out through the doors and between the two men, catching just enough of the conversation to spark his interest.

Steve dipped his head, he too knew that Danny would have heard enough and was mentally bracing himself for the thousand questions to follow. "Ryan, this is my partner, Detective Danny Williams. Danny, Lt Commander Ryan Fitzgerald." Steve introduced.

"Danny… yeah, Steve talked about you while we were on deployment." Ryan nodded.

"Oh really, you were on that one, huh?" Danny nodded.

"First time in seven years, but we go way back to BUD/S."

"You as crazy as him?" Danny pointed at Steve.

"Not even close." Ryan smirked.

"I'm yet to meet someone who is." Danny nodded with a forced grin.

Ryan laughed. "I should get going. I got to be on base at 0530 then fly out at 1000." he said as he extended his hand out to Steve. "Good to see you, man."

"You too." Steve replied. "Call me when you're back at HQ. We'll catch up for a beer."

"Of course." He nodded before shaking Danny's hand. "Nice meeting you."

Danny nodded before the man walked away. "You talked about me to your SEAL friends… I'm touched."

Steve smiled softly.

The pair turned to look at the darkness filled with heavy rain. "Where's your truck?" Danny asked.

Steve smirked. "It's… it's not close."

"Of course it's not." He closed his eyes and sighed with frustration.

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Danny navigated the truck down a tree lined road on the journey home as Steve looked out of the passenger window. He replayed the conversation he'd had with Catherine over and over in his mind but each time it distressed him more as he thought about the hurt he'd caused, especially now at what should be such a happy time.

The, now excruciating, pain in his shoulder was the only thing that seemed to keep himself completely being absorbed by his anger toward himself and his fear of how he and Catherine could possibly move forward. He could feel his stomach churning, a fine film of sweat shrouded his bare skin and his body felt shaky. He didn't know if that was anxiety or if it was something more.

"I now get why you like my car so much. This thing drives like a tank… but I guess to you that would only make it more appealing, no?"

Steve smiled softly.

Danny could hear Amber's suggestion about understanding in his head but he thought he'd done exceedingly well so far. That said he was fighting the urge to tell Steve how he really felt. "I did tell you not to tell Catherine… you could have just left it… given it some time, at least until you'd settled down." He nodded.

"Yeah I did, Danny." He replied. He coughed a sarcastic laugh and shook his head. "I know what it's like to constantly be lied to. To have secrets kept from me. You, Kono, Chin and Catherine are the only people who I can trust, I didn't think I would ever have that kind of support from one person let alone a group of people. It means a lot to me." He paused. "I don't want anything between Catherine and I… secrets… they only rip people apart. I got a front row seat to that watching my parents. I'm not about to do the same thing."

Danny sighed. "I'm glad you brought that up actually… it leads me into something else… because you know that I have to ask, right?"

Steve sighed as he closed his eyes. "I was hoping you wouldn't." he groaned.

"Who's Leah?" Danny replied.

Steve straightened in the seat and cleared his throat. "Leah was a girl I was dating." He stopped.

Danny glanced at him and widened his eyes, as if to prompt him for more information. "Right… only I heard your SEAL buddy say something that suggested there was more to the story."

"Danny…" Steve said before tightening his jaw.

"I'm fairly certain this story isn't classified, so go ahead."

A moment passed. Steve knew how much Danny hated being kept out of things and he could obviously sympathize. Given he'd just got done saying how he hated being kept in the dark he could hardly go ahead and do exactly that. He sighed heavily. "Leah was a girl I was seeing a while ago. She was living with a friend of mine, we got introduced… started talking, calling… and then we were dating." He nodded. "As time went on things progressed. It was nice relationship, we had fun… enjoyed each others company but she hated me being in the Navy and all that went with that."

Danny nodded.

"I was not long out of BUD/S and the training was ongoing… things got busier with work, short term deployments sent me away a lot and things turned. She asked me to leave, even if I could I didn't want too. I started to realize that as much as I enjoyed being with her, she probably wasn't the person I could settle down with." Steve sighed. "Around the same time she found out she was pregnant."

Danny's frown deepened. He couldn't imagine where this was heading because it wasn't something he'd ever imagined could have happened in Steve's past.

"I couldn't tell her how I was feeling… not after she'd told me we were having a baby. I just decided that I would give everything I had to try and make it work. And if it didn't then I would still be there for her and the baby." He paused. "Things got a little better for a while, and everything with the pregnancy was fine, up until she went into premature labor at 24 weeks… I was on an exercise that day, they couldn't get hold of me… and Ella was born a couple of hours later."

Danny pulled over to the side of the road, literally in shock, but he was distracted by his cell phone flashing to indicate an incoming call. He saw the name, 'JOE WHITE' on the display, but he was so engrossed in the story he wasn't bothered by Joe's call. He dropped the cell phone into the pocket in the door so it wouldn't disturb them again.

"They finally tracked my team down the next day, got me to the hospital." He thinned his lips with sadness. "Up until that point it just didn't connect with me… having a baby at that time. It just didn't sink in… but when I saw her… it changed, just like you said it would with Jack. But with Ella, it was different. I don't know what it was, but I was hesitant about getting close to her. I just couldn't see how we'd end up walking out of that hospital with her. She was so small… and so sick, she probably shouldn't have lived more than a couple of hours… but Leah and I watched her fight for three days." He smiled bitterly. "I didn't hold her… Leah did, but something held me back. I've regretted that ever since."

Danny's eyes drifted down, his mouth parted.

"I'd just watch her, put my hand inside the crib and my finger in the palm of her hand. It was so tiny, it didn't even wrap around… but she clung on to me." He paused as his eyes glistened with tears. "They told us she had a defect in her heart that couldn't be treated, mainly because of her prematurity… her condition deteriorated… and then she was gone."

Danny was now horrified as he dared to imagine if that had been Grace.

"You know, you get all kinds of people offering up their advice after something like that happens. The one that stuck in my head was that we lost Ella because we didn't want her enough." He shook his head. "I know that's one of the craziest explanations to why she didn't live, but it plays on me. Even if it was true, it couldn't have been further from the truth." He insisted with sincerity. "Yeah, Leah and I weren't ready or even right to be a family… but that didn't change how much Ella was wanted by both of us." He paused. "Those days I spent with her, I couldn't help but get close to her. I would have done anything to keep her alive. Anything at all." He frowned as his eyes glared into thin air. "And then this morning, after Jack was born… and all I could hear was the silence… that crazy comment was all I could think about again. Did my actions over there make it look like I didn't want him enough?"

"All this time, all the things I've said… you knew what it was like to have a kid change you." Danny frowned. "You didn't once say a word to me or tell me to shut up."

"Like I said, Ella was different. I knew she wasn't mine to keep. I knew what time I had with her was limited. We couldn't look into the future and think about those milestones because we knew they weren't going to happen. With Jack, it's a whole different outlook."

Danny sighed as he lowered his head. He allowed a respectful silence play out between them. "How do you carry all of this by yourself?" Danny whispered. "How do you do it? Why do you do it?"

"It's the only way I can… I deal with it my own way. It's how I am and I'm ok with that." he shrugged, then paused. "A couple of people knew… some of the guys on my team… Ryan… Joe…" he replied gently. "I never got to tell Dad and I still haven't told Mary." he shook his head.

"Catherine?"

He shook his head. "Catherine was stationed in Dubai at the time and we were just friends, we weren't that close. I didn't want to forget it happened, but it wasn't something that was easy to talk about for me." He sighed. "When things got serious between us I told her."

Danny sighed as he shook his head. "Steve, I'm so sorry."

"It's life, right? He shrugged gently. "It was a long time ago." He smiled softly. "But I do look at you and Grace, and sometimes I wonder what it would have been like. How different things would have been, how much my life would have changed… but it is what it is. I can't change it." He shook his head.

Danny slowly pulled away from the side of the road and continued on their journey. "You still talk to Leah?"

"No… we stayed together for a month or so after, but we both had different ways of handling what had happened. I guess I closed off and she wanted support. I couldn't give it to her, not the kind she needed." He shook his head. "Then I got orders to deploy to Iraq, she didn't take that so well… and she wasn't prepared to hang around." He sighed. "I tried calling her while I was out there, just to see how she was doing… but she wouldn't answer my calls. When I got back she'd moved down south, back with her family. That was it."

Danny shook his head sympathetically.

As they passed a dirt track, on the side of the road, they were suddenly taken by headlights illuminating the side of Steve's truck, a loud revving could be heard before they felt a sudden and violent jolt. They were hit with such a force that it immediately sent them off course. The truck span ninety degrees, but kept traveling in the same direction, the tires screeching over the tar and into a patch of dirt and dust, doing nothing to slow them down before impacting against a large tree.

The sound of shattering glass, as the front window crumpled from the force, could be heard. The hood popped up with a clear crease down the middle as if it had been folded in two. The blow was so heavy it shook them around like rag dolls inside, Danny felt the pressure against the left side of his body where the truck was now molded around the trunk. He sat there for a moment, dazed and confused before an eerie silence enveloped them. "Steve…" he called softly after some time had passed. There was no response which had alarmed him, especially since he couldn't turn his neck enough to get a good view of his best friend. "Steve…" he said, his voice filled with more urgency but still barely a whisper. His eyes closed involuntarily.

**AUTHORS NOTE: Sorry about the delay, RL got in the way. Again thank you for all the comments on this fic. Appreciate your feed back! Sorry again for leaving it so long. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

It was just after 3am when Kono and Chin ran through the doors of Tripler, concern etched in their faces. Kono made it to the desk first, her eyes wide with alarm. "Danny Williams." She said as she presented her badge.

The nurse nodded and walked around the desk swiftly, silently waving for the pair to follow. She led them into a small cubicle but stopped them just short of entering, though she announced their arrival to the doctor who was with Danny.

Through the gap in the curtains they noted that Danny was flat on the bed, his neck immobilized by a collar and his eyes appeared to be closed, though the angle wasn't good. What they could see was the physical effects of the trauma, both shocked by the bruising and swelling evident on his body, particularly his face.

A doctor stepped out and shook their hands. "Doctor Ma'lay." He introduced himself.

"Kono Kalakua and Chin Ho Kelly." Kono nodded.

"How is he?" Chin asked.

"A fractured skull, a break in his wrist as well as some pretty serious bruising and lacerations. The scans, so far, have shown no damage to his neck and spine but we are waiting for the final report." Ma'lay replied.

Kono sighed with relief.

"He's extremely distressed about the passenger in the car. Steve McGarrett. All we've told him is that we haven't heard anything about his condition yet."

"He needs to know." Chin nodded.

"It's your call. I'll leave it to you." Ma'lay nodded with understanding.

"Thank you, doctor." Chin replied.

Kono pushed back the curtain and walked over to Danny's side. She smiled softly. "Hey…"

"Hey…" he answered, his eyes reaching to see her face, limited in movement by the brace. "I think I broke Steve's truck."

Her smiled widened. "Nothing that a little polish won't fix." She studied his face.

"How's Steve, Kono?" he asked, his voice dripping with concern though it also suggested he wasn't prepared for the answer. "They won't tell me anything… trouble is, I know what that usually means."

Chin shuffled on his feet for a moment, catching Kono's eye enough for her to glance at him.

"And I know what that kind of look can mean." Danny continued.

She looked back to Danny and sighed. "They're not telling you anything because no one knows." She answered softly.

He paused as he glared at her. "Ok, so tell me what you do know…" Danny frowned.

Chin stepped forward and into Danny's line of sight. "When EMS arrived at the scene, you were the only one there. Steve was gone."

"Gone? Gone where?"

"That's what HPD are working on right now. The thought was that perhaps Steve was disorientated and wondered off to find help. They've started a full scale search of the area." Kono replied.

"But you don't think that. If you did then at least one of you would be out there with HPD." Danny answered.

Chin raised his eyebrows, Danny was still as perceptive as ever. "Danny, do you remember anything about the accident?"

Danny sighed. "We were talking, these headlights just appeared from a track off the road. The next thing I know we were sliding sideways, into the tree…" he moved his eyes to Chin. "I tried to call out for Steve, but he didn't answer."

"Sounds like Joe might have been on to something." Chin said softly to Kono before tapping a message out on his phone and sending it.

"Joe? What's Joe got to do with this?" Danny asked.

"I got a call from him late last night. He's back here in Oahu, helping an NCIS agent with an off the books investigation that involved Steve. Apparently they identified a threat to his safety, wanted to give us a heads up."

"Wait, wait wait. Joe tried calling me… Steve was talking about something important so I ignored the call. I just figured he wanted to know how everything went with the baby."

Chin thinned his lips.

"Joe was calling to warn me." Danny said out loud with realization.

"You weren't to know, Danny." Kono shook her head.

He pushed back the overwhelming resentment he felt toward himself. "Do we know anything about the investigation?" Danny asked.

"No… but I spoke to Joe before. He's going to meet Kono and I at the Palace in an hour, shed some light on what's going on. Is there anything specific you can think of that would put him in danger?"

"Nothing that stands out…" Danny answered with frustration. "I mean there the incident that happened on his deployment, but other than that."

"What happened on his deployment?" Kono frowned as she glanced at Chin.

Danny sighed. "Steve traded himself to the Taliban as part of an unsanctioned rescue mission. He was rescued, by accident, a couple days later."

"Would they have sent someone to take him back?" Kono asked.

"Not unless Steve was of a specific value to them." Chin shook his head.

"Detective Williams…" A younger doctor said as she appeared and walked over to him.

Chin's phone chirped prompting to step away and answer.

"You're scan reports confirmed the all clear." The doctor smiled. "We can take this off now." She said as she removed the collar gently and raised the head of the bed.

"Thank you…" he whispered as he rubbed the back of his neck with the palm of his hands, he waited until she'd stepped out before he looked at Kono. "If something's happened to Steve, and I could have prevented it by answering Joe's call…"

"Let's just wait and see… ok?" Kono whispered sympathetically.

"Does Catherine know what's going on?" Danny asked.

"No… not yet. Chin and I hoped we would get some more information by the time she wakes up."

"That was Max…" Chin said as he stepped over. "So I passed on the information about the second car, CSU found some tracks in the dirt… they're taking casts."

Danny glared at him. "What else?" he asked, he could tell he was holding something back.

"There was a significant amount of blood soaked into the passenger seat, Max is sending it for analysis, but he warned us to prepare for the likelihood it will be Steve's."

"And if it is, what does that mean?" Danny asked.

"The amount he's talking about is cause for serious concern. Especially of medical attention wasn't sought immediately."

Danny started removed the pulse oximeter from his finger, followed by ripping the cannula out of his arm.

"What are you doing?" Chin asked.

"I'm coming with you to meet Joe at the Palace."

"Danny…" Kono reached out. "You've got to stay in here for observation."

"What would you do if it was Chin?" Danny replied, turning his attention to the small pads stuck to his chest.

"I'd want to leave… but I know, for a fact, Steve wouldn't let that happen."

"Well he isn't here to stop me." Danny asked quietly. "So…"

Kono sighed as she straightened, looking back to Chin for another idea. He had nothing.

Danny stood up and grabbed his clothes.

**H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Joe pulled up outside the Palace, the spot lights lit up the historic façade. The rain had dissipated some time ago, but the sidewalks and streets still glistened and the humidity was thick.

He sighed as he switched off the ignition and sat motionless as he contemplated his options. He knew he had to do everything he could after the latest events. He picked up his cell phone from the passenger seat and pressed the button, illuminating the screen.

He hesitated for just a moment, knowing the can of worms he was potentially going to open by making this call. Steve wouldn't thank him, it would possibly shatter their relationship beyond repair. However the alternative was that Steve, if still alive, would more than likely never make it home if he didn't go down this road and for Joe that wasn't an option he could entertain.

He exhaled loudly, pressing one of his contacts and putting it up to his ear. "It's me… we need to talk." He said softly.

**H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Kono and Chin stood beside the touch screen table as they observed Danny through the glass of his office. He'd been sitting at his desk, his head in his hands, since they had arrived.

"He shouldn't be here." Kono whispered as she folded her arms over her chest.

"You want to have that argument with him again?" Chin raised his eyebrows.

"He's going to be no use to us, or Steve, if he pushes himself like this."

Chin thinned his lips. "Rightly or wrongly, Danny feels responsible for what happened last night. You think he's stressed out here, imagine what he would be like sitting in that hospital and feeling like he's on the outside. I'm not saying that this is the best place for him to be right now, but if this is what he needs then we have to respect that."

Joe pushed his way through the doors, prompting Danny to look up. He hurried out of his office with the others.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Joe asked Danny with disbelief.

"Funny, because we are all wanting to ask you the same question." He answered. "What's going on, Joe?"

"You should be at the hospital."

"No, I should be home with Amber. Steve should be at home packing some extra things for Catherine, thinking about seeing his son in a couple of hours, but that's not the reality… so do me a favor, skip the lecture and get on with whatever you've got." Danny growled.

Joe turned to Chin in the hope he would get some back up.

"Don't look at me. This argument has been played like a broken record in the past hour." Chin nodded with his hands up in defeat.

Joe sighed as he leant against the side of the table. "Steve's in real trouble."

Danny nodded nervously. "When isn't he?"

"Did he tell you he'd launched a back channel investigation into James Cobb's involvement into Lei Kwan Fat's murder?"

Danny frowned. "Cobb? The guy that invited us to a demolition party?"

Joe nodded.

"No… he said that he'd run out of leads once he thanked Cobb with a 9mm to the chest." Danny shrugged. "Said he'd decided to drop the investigation and wait until Doris showed back up. Get the answers from her."

"Well he didn't." Joe answered. "Cobb led him to another name, Elis Gilroy… and now it seems both Gilroy and Steve have developed an unhealthy obsession with one another."

"Unhealthy being who can get to who first?" Chin asked.

"Yes, and at this stage I fear Gilroy might be able to claim victory with that one."

Kono tapped on the screen and brought up a picture and record of Elis Gilroy. "CEO of ASENTH."

"The private military contractor?" Danny frowned as he looked at the screen.

Joe turned to him with surprise. "You know of them?"

"Only because they tried to recruit Steve." Danny shrugged.

"When?"

"Before he moved back to Hawaii." Danny replied. "They tried again in the first couple of weeks we started working together. Some guy, from the mainland, turned up at his place one night… trying to sign him up… said they could really use his skills and expertise."

"Gilroy?" Joe asked.

"No… no he was younger…" Danny shook his head. "But he was persistent. Steve wasn't interested. He had strong opinions on those kinds of organizations. He said they had their place but it wasn't for him."

"So Gilroy found out Steve was looking into him?" Kono asked.

"As far as we know he isn't aware of the investigation Steve was running…" Joe shook his head.

"I'm not following." Chin shrugged.

"It appears Gilroy was after Steve from the moment Cobb was taken out." Joe answered. "I guess because with Cobb out of the way, Gilroy was next in line to be exposed for Lei Kwan Fat's murder. Steve was the only one who was pushing for the truth. Turns out Gilroy has a lot more to hide than what happened in a field in Cambodia." Joe paused. "There's also a string of evidence that suggests Gilroy was responsible for Steve being drafted on that last deployment, and everything that happened on it."

"What are you talking about?" Danny frowned.

"It looks like the mission was a deliberate trap for Steve to hand himself over to the enemy. Gilroy gets Steve out of the way, the enemy think they are getting someone who will be tortured into spilling classified Intel and Gilroy makes a sweet penny out of it."

"You really believe that's possible? That someone could, or even would, go to all that trouble?" Danny questioned.

"Cobb went to the extent of dropping 300 tons of concrete and steel, in the center of Honolulu, just to silence Steve and cover it up. Yes, I think it's possible."

Danny nodded before a reality hit him. He shook his head helplessly. "Then that's it. We're too late, they would have killed him."

"I don't believe that." Joe replied. "If they just wanted to kill him then they would have done it at the accident site, made it look like a street crime. The risks in taking him are high… which means have him for a reason. They need him for something."

"Like what?" Kono asked.

"That's what I'm going to try and work out. I'm meeting up with the NCIS agent, who brought this to me, in just over an hour." He nodded.

"Good, so bring him here… we have all the equipment and access to the resources you'd need." Danny snapped lightly.

"And everything is recorded… you want us digging around to be flagged with Gilroy then that's fine… but the minute he finds out his background is being sifted through it not only puts Steve in more danger, it places every one of us and our families at risk." Joe responded.

"Joe's right." Kono nodded. "If Gilroy has eyes on the inside then he'd be monitoring logs, electronic traffic and any investigation that point to him or ASENTH." She paused. "You can guarantee Five-0's communications would be top of his list right now."

"How could he do that?" Danny shrugged.

"If someone hacked into our server… even classified logs could be vulnerable and open to view, depending on how good the hacker is." Kono answered.

"I'm no professional in the world of hacking but can't we trace any breach to the system and kick them off?" Danny argued.

"We could, but that runs the risk of tipping them off that we are looking for them." Chin nodded.

Danny sighed with frustration. "Ok, but if they are monitoring and we suddenly go quiet from this end, that's going to raise red flags also, no?" Danny shrugged. "They will assume we are working this up from somewhere else."

"Point taken." Joe nodded.

"I can plant a flow of outgoing and incoming information through our server… with no connection to what we know about Gilroy or ASENTH." Chin answered. "That should convince them we are on the wrong path."

"That could benefit us too." Kono nodded. "If they believe our investigation is going in the wrong direction, it leads them into a false sense of security. They might become complaisant. We can manipulate them to believe whatever we want… done right, they won't see us coming."

"Max…" Chin said as he looked up to the door. "What have you got?"

"Good news of some sort." Max nodded. "The blood found on the passenger seat, of Commander McGarrett's car, was not his…"

The group sighed with relief collectively.

"Furthermore, CSU found traces of gunpowder on the passenger side of the truck, which led them to a bullet lodged in the door. It was difficult to see given all the structural damage to the vehicle, as a result of the crash."

"Go on." Danny nodded.

"Prelim report suggests the bullet was fired from one of Commander McGarrett's weapons." He nodded. "Perhaps Steve shot one of the attackers in defense, and that's how there came to be blood on the seat."

"Which means he at least survived the crash." Joe replied. "That's something."

"Yeah, but in true McGarrett style he goes on to piss them off by shooting one of them." Danny growled.

"We are running the blood sample through CODIS, but the results will take some time." Max concluded.

"Time is not something we seem to have." Kono whispered.

Max thinned his lips with disappointment. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."

"It's fine, Max. Mahalo." Chin nodded.

"I think it's time we told Catherine what's going on." Kono whispered reluctantly.

Danny sighed, this was something he'd tried to mentally prepare himself over and over for since Steve and Catherine had gotten serious. It was one thing passing information off to a family member of a victim they had no association with but another when that person was part of his own family. "I'll do it…"

"I'll come with." Kono nodded.

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Steve opened his eyes slowly, his vision was blurred and his body numb but the chill of the concrete floor he lay on was palpable. He then noticed the distinct metallic taste of blood in his mouth, running his tongue over his teeth to check if they were all still there and intact. His face was resting against the floor, his chest down but twisted at the hips with his legs on their side and his lower arm was trapped somewhere under his body. They must have thrown him in here with little care.

His free arm was beside him allowing him to focus on his hand. Dry blood had congealed on the skin from the multiple abrasions. His experience led him to believe they were defense wounds, but he couldn't recall how he'd exactly acquired them.

His body was telling him to give in, sleep until he had to move, but in his mind he knew that wasn't the answer. He at least had to study his predicament, assess his options and work out even the most futile of plans. He lifted his head, only slightly, off the frigid surface but his energy was shot and without warning his muscles gave way sending him back down on the hard concrete. He winced with pain and frustration, crying out softly as the dull thud of the impact resonated through his head and down his back.

He could feel that fine film of sweat shrouding his skin again, chills causing him to unwillingly shudder softly. His breathing was shallow and slow. His eyes became heavy, keeping them open proved to be completely impossible no matter how hard he tried. He blinked a couple of times, each time they closed further and further until he didn't open them again.

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Catherine's night had been unsettled to say the least. Too many thoughts had circled her mind over and over again with no kind of resolution or peace. She'd calmed herself down not long after Steve had left, but sometime in the early hours the guilt of sending him away had started to consume her.

She scooped up her cell phone and tried his number again. She closed her eyes when all she seemed to get was his voicemail. Nothing she had to say was appropriate to leave on a message, she just wished he would call back or walk through the door.

She rested back against the bed and looked out over the ocean, the suns morning rays created a postcard like view, bordered by the window frames of the room. The orange and purple glow cast over the ripples in the water, as cluster of dark grey storm clouds seemed to make the scene that little more dramatic and special.

Danny and Kono entered the room, Catherine turned, noting that Danny was clipping his badge back on his belt. Then her attention turned to his face, the bruising and cuts which could see were fresh. Her heart sank, long before her mind processed their forlorn expressions. "Danny…" she whispered. "What's happened?" she finally asked after raising enough courage.

Danny looked down, unable to maintain constant eye contact, just in case she would see the fear in his eyes. "Um…" he whispered. "Something happened, last night… on the way home from the hospital."

Her eyes darted to the door, willing Steve to follow closely behind, but she sensed that wasn't going to happen. "Where is he, Danny?"

Danny winced with trepidation. Kono noticed his reluctance and stepped forward. "Catherine. Danny and Steve were involved in a car accident last night, we believe it was deliberate… that Steve was their target, and that he was taken."

"What?" she hissed gently, a deep frown evident.

"We're doing everything we can to find him." Kono nodded with reassurance.

"Why would someone want to take him?" Catherine asked desperately.

"We don't know yet." Danny answered, but he just wasn't convincing enough for Catherine.

"I don't believe you." She replied. "Danny… tell me the truth."

Danny sighed. How could he put this? That they wanted to silence him? "Someone wanted to stop Steve from uncovering secrets, we think about Cambodia."

"Cambodia? Wo Fat's mother? Steve shut that down when he shot Cobb."

"Not exactly." Danny raised his eyebrows. "Killing Cobb only seems to have pissed off some pretty powerful friends of his. Elis Gilroy, you ever heard of him?" Danny replied.

She frowned. "No…"

He paused as he glanced at Kono for a second then back to Catherine. "Listen, we've got to get back… but you should know that we've placed you and Jack under protective custody for the time being. MP's will be outside your door and you should probably delay any visitors for now. Ok?"

She shook her head. "That's it? You have to give me something to do… there must be leads I can work up from here?"

"We can't risk it, Catherine. We believe we're being monitored." Kono answered softly.

"We can't even work from the Palace, we're just on the way to meet Joe and an NCIS agent who are working out of a hotel in Kailua."

"You can't seriously expect me to sit here and do nothing?" Catherine choked.

"Listen to me… you need to focus on taking care of you and Jack right now." Danny whispered encouragingly. "Keep your eyes open… ok?"

She closed her eyes and exhaled with panic, it was hard to accept that arrangement when all her instincts told her she needed to help Steve.

He leant down and rested his hand on her shoulder. "We'll find him."

Catherine's eyes rested on his. "Alive?" She whispered, glaring into his eyes.

Danny's eyes drifted down, he couldn't answer that. "We'll find him." He whispered.

**H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Steve remembered being pulled roughly to his feet before being dropped down onto a chair. His hands bound behind him and the excruciating pain in his shoulder forced him to lean forward in a desperate attempt to find some relief. It never came.

The upside, he was now in a better position to study his surroundings. The down side was that he was in no fit state to devise any kind of plan. The room was completely bare other than the chair he was sitting on and another, which was vacant, opposite him. The walls seemed to be lined with rusting metal, though still appeared sturdy none the less. A thick door to his right with a small glass window inset and beyond that was possibly the inside of a warehouse, although he couldn't quite tell.

He sensed there was at least two men behind him. Perhaps they were aware of his abilities in close quarter combat, but the truth was he was no threat to them. His injuries, tied with his physical exhaustion and his disorientated state, made him fully understand how helpless he was in this moment.

The florescent light, which bore down on him, was irritating his eyes. An unnatural light under normal circumstances but even more so in his current condition. His head was pounding with a dull but constant thud and he could, once again, feel his stomach churning. The contents, if any, threatening to come up at any moment.

Now he was away from the bone chilling floor the burning of his skin seemed far more noticeable. He knew what that meant, he knew he was showing signs of a fever and he also knew why. He still couldn't control his body from shivering.

His consciousness was fading as his head dipped forward, closing his eyes, but the jolt of the door being opened alerted him again. His eyes opened and he slowly looked up to see a man in his 60's, large build with balding grey hair and a goatee to match. He recognized the man from the many surveillance pictures he'd sifted through over the past year, not to mention the dozens of corporate portraits that littered the internet. Elis Gilroy.

Steve held his eyes on the man, an intimidating stare was all he could muster.

"I have to hand it to you, Commander… you're a hard man to keep down." The man nodded before he leant forward against his knees. "I admire that… it's a quality I look for in my employees. Not everyone has what it takes to fight for survival… it's a special attribute, but there is no doubt you have it."

Steve struggled to stay alert, exhaustion setting in again, but he battled against it. "What do you want?" he whispered.

Gilroy smirked as he sighed and sat back. "I just want your cooperation." He nodded. "I think you owe me that… your recent bid for freedom out in the Middle East cost me dearly… caused all kinds of unsavory individuals to crawl out of the woodwork… interested in getting back what they paid for." He paused. "You."

He didn't have the mental capacity to string it all together at that moment in time and, if he was honest, he didn't really care. He just wanted to know what Gilroy's intentions were.

"I'm happy to call them off… pay them back the money they are owed, but under the agreement that you enlist with ASENTH."

"Never going to happen." Steve thinned his lips with disgust.

"Ok…" Gilroy curled his lip smugly, nodding as he leant forward again, closing the gap between he and Steve. "Let me make myself clearer… you're going to agree to be part of my team… and here's why." He glared at Steve. "I know you would do anything to protect those you love, and those who are loyal to you." He paused. "If you don't cooperate, I give you my word, I will cut you loose and then make you watch as I rip your world apart." He answered menacingly.

Steve glared at the man, a rage was evident inside his eyes but that was all he could offer.

"I'll give you some time to think things through… but I know you'll do the right thing." He nodded as he got to his feet, looking down on his prisoner. "Otherwise I'm going to have a busy afternoon sightseeing this fine island and visiting some new friends… Tripler and the Palace being top of my list."

Steve kept his head down but his eyes widened. His heart rate picked up with the thought.

"Great finally chatting to you." Gilroy nodded as he patted Steve on his shoulder.

Steve winced but kept his pain silent, eager to show no more signs of weakness. He listened to the sounds of Gilroy's footsteps as he headed out of the room before he gasped with discomfort.

His mind reverted back to Gilroy's 'proposal'. He could only imagine what he would be asked to do if he agreed to working for ASENTH, but was simply no other choice. He had no doubts at all that Gilroy would go after whoever he could to influence and torment his prisoner. Steve was so sure of that, he wasn't even remotely willing to call the man's bluff.

Whatever Gilroy wanted, he absolutely had to go along with it, at least for now.

**Authors Note: Thank you so much again for all the reviews, favorites and follows. REALLY appreciate it. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Danny and Kono walked down the rundown outdoor walkway, on the second level of a 1 star motel, in the outskirts of Kailua. Joe had called them only an hour ago, told them they had relocated for security reasons. Given the developments he and Reyes now believed they were too exposed in Waikiki.

Danny stopped, holding his hand out to steady himself against the wall and lowering his head.

Kono turned, frowning with concern. "Danny."

"I'm good." He said, straightening himself and nodding. "What was the room number?"

"56, should be up here." She replied cautiously.

They continued to walk until Chin appeared out of a door with his cell phone pressed against his ear, leaning against the decrepit railing. "Ok, thanks…" he nodded before hanging up.

"What have you got?" Danny asked.

"HPD fished out a body from the Nuuanu Reservoir, off the Pali Highway, and hour ago."

Danny and Kono's eyes widened with concern.

"Not Steve…" he shook his head.

"You might want to start that kind of statement with the 'not Steve' part in future, cuz."

"Noted." He nodded as the trio walked inside. "Single gunshot wound to the chest, and he was pretty beaten up. Sound like he met anyone we might know?"

"Met his match." Kono nodded.

"We got an ID?" Danny asked.

"Max is sending the details through to Agent Reyes as we speak." Chin answered as they entered the main part of the motel room.

"Oh, here… before I forget. Clean cell phone. Danny and I got burners on the way over. I put our new numbers in there for you." Kono nodded.

"Thanks." Chin nodded.

The furnishings left a lot to be desired, an oversized room with just a bed, cupboard, table and chairs. That said, it did the job.

Joe stood up from the table and thinned his lips. "How did it go with Catherine?"

Danny sighed. "She took it as well as can be expected. I'm going to head back down there in a couple of hours… keep her company."

Joe nodded. "Detective Danny Williams and Officer Kono Kalakua, Five-0… this is Agent Ben Reyes, NCIS." He introduced.

Danny nodded to acknowledge him.

"It's good to meet you." Kono smiled.

"I'm sorry about Steve, but I promise you… we'll sort this out." Reyes nodded before his laptop indicated he had a message.

"That will be our M.E, he's ID'ed a body." Chin nodded.

Joe looked at Chin with concern.

"Not Steve." Danny added.

"Right…" Chin nodded.

Reyes tapped on his keyboard and brought the information up on the screen. "Ryan Fitzgerald, 38 from Virginia."

"Ryan Fitzgerald?" Danny frowned. "You got a picture?"

Reyes opened up a folder.

"That can't be right." Joe said with shock. "This guy is a SEAL. He went through BUD/S with Steve."

"Wait. He was at the hospital last night, before we left." Danny answered. "He talked to Steve."

"What about?" Chin asked.

"I don't know… I went inside, when I came back he was there. Steve mentioned something about him being relocated to Japan with the Navy. This Fitzgerald guy said he had to be at Pearl early this morning to collect orders, then fly out."

Reyes looked up the man's record. "That can't be right." he said.

"Why not?" Danny asked.

"According to Fitzgerald's service record he left the Navy eight months ago." Reyes said as he sat back in his chair.

"Steve said he was on his last deployment. How could he do that if he wasn't in the Navy?" Danny frowned.

"I don't know…" Reyes shook his head. "There is no record of any interagency recruitment. He wasn't transferred to any other government unit."

Joe sighed. "I think it's clear that when Ryan left the Navy, he was recruited into ASENTH." He nodded. "Considering what we already have, it wouldn't be farfetched to believe he was somehow placed on the team through unofficial channels."

"So you think this guy was there to make sure everything went as planned… that Steve made the trade?" Chin asked.

"It's what I'm thinking… but without proof it's just a hunch." Joe nodded.

"I might just be able to get some kind of proof." Reyes nodded as he tapped on the keyboard. "Jake Matheson got into ASENTH's server once… maybe he can do it again… only this time looking for communications involving Fitzgerald's name."

"Try it." Joe nodded.

Danny squeezed his eyes closed tightly in reaction to the room which suddenly started to spin. He opened them and quietly backed away from the group, walking carefully back outside and leaning against the railing.

Kono subtly followed him. "You shouldn't be here, Danny. You should be back in the hospital."

"I know…" he nodded as he looked at her, the first time he'd offered even the slightest flicker of agreement. "And I will… but I just wanted to help get this case off the ground... identify what's going on, find a location where they are holding Steve and then leave you guys to go in and get him."

"That could take days, Danny… even weeks." Kono answered. "You can't do this to yourself."

Danny paused. "Remember when your surf mentor was murdered?" he started.

Kono frowned before nodding. "Ian…"

"Steve and Chin were out following up on a lead, I was still recovering with my knee so I stayed back at the Palace… but they both told you to go home." He asked. "You remember that?"

Kono shuffled as she crossed her arms over her chest and smirked weakly. She knew exactly where he was headed with this.

"I came in to your office… said that I didn't want to see Steve make the face he makes when one of us doesn't do what he tells us to do…"

"The constipated look…" Kono nodded and laughed as Danny said the words with her. "Yeah, I remember."

Danny sighed as he stood up and looked at her. "You said that Ian had made his surfers better people because of what he did for you, how he changed the way you saw things." Danny paused. "You said that you needed to pay him back and you couldn't do it just sitting there."

She paused before nodding with defeat. "Yeah…"

"Well, despite how much I hate him… 95% of the time I hate him to be precise… Steve, he's that person to me. That 5% of the time, when I do like him… he's my best friend and my partner. He's kept me grounded, stopped me from falling off the rails more times than I can remember… and I can't imagine what it would be like, on this rock, without him here. The thought… it literally gives me anxiety." Danny nodded. "I couldn't protect him over in the Middle East, and when he told me what went down out there, with the trade… it freaked me out." He sighed. "But as his partner, we are supposed to protect each other here. I screwed up… and now I need to put it right." He shrugged. "And I can't do that just sitting here."

Kono nodded gently.

"If this…" he said pointing at his head "gets any worse, I promise you… I'll go back to Tripler and I'll stay there." He paused as he looked into Kono's eyes. "Just, please, understand that I need to do what I can to help Steve."

Kono smiled softly. "Yeah…" she whispered.

**H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Steve's chin rested down on his chest as he sat in the chair. His energy depleted and his mind slowing. He could feel his condition was dangerously deteriorating.

The door opened and Gilroy appeared with two men by his side and a folder in his hand. He walked over and sat down in the chair opposite Steve again.

"What, exactly, do you want me to do?" Steve whispered, a distinct inflection of pain in his voice.

Gilroy smiled thinly. "Do me a favor, cut him free." He nodded to the men.

The pair stepped forward and cut the ties wrapped tightly around his wrists. Steve's arms dropped heavily to his side and the shift in weight sent him off balance, slouching forward before regaining his composure.

Gilroy glared at him for a moment. "I have a… 'target' that needs to be dealt with."

"You mean a hit?" Steve asked with disgust.

He stared at Steve, not willing to agree to that particular description.

"I need background."

"As an ASENTH team member, you are here to carry out the job not dwell on the details." Gilroy replied.

"You want me to take out someone who, for all I know, is an innocent civilian." Steve scoffed.

"Well you can trust me when I say that this particular target is neither innocent nor a civilian."

"And you can understand when I tell you that trust isn't my biggest quality… especially under these particular circumstances."

"All you need to know is that the target is located in a village, 14 miles north west of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. You'll be flying out tomorrow morning with two other operatives, who will make sure that the job is done." He said. "But, if you insist on having some details…" he shrugged. "You'll get some more information in this file." He said, handing over the folder.

Steve hesitated for a moment, his eyes fixed on the manila folder stretched out toward him. He was dubious, but not because of who he feared might be inside, but because he was trying desperately to work out a way out of this as a whole. The truth is he had no cards to play. Gilroy had the power. It was either play along, at least for now, or place everyone he cared about at risk. He exhaled a shaken breath, closing his eyes briefly before grasping hold of the file. He glanced at Gilroy before opening the folder.

His eyes widened when he was presented with an intelligence sheet, none of the written information caught him, it was the target's picture that sent him reeling. Was his mind playing tricks on him? Was he hallucinating? Was this really happening? "No…" he shook his head. "No…"

"Not what you were expecting, right?"

Steve caught his breath, unable to respond.

"I understand your trepidation… but you know it just has to be done, right?" Gilroy nodded.

"You can't be serious… you can't honestly expect me to go through with this?"

"All I know is that you don't have a choice." He replied before pausing. "You see, Commander… you either choose to save the lives of your family and friends here in Oahu… or you save Shelburne. It's one or the other."

Steve's eyes glistened with tears.

"It's a no brainer, Steve." Gilroy added. "This woman, she is a danger… she's a danger to national security… a danger to my company, my legacy and my existence… and she is, and always will be, a danger to you."

Steve swallowed the lump in the back of his throat and shook his head.

"Oh come on. She left you… she was a mother to you for only a couple of years and she is a far cry from the woman you were brought up by. She is a murderer, a liar, and her existence will always be a threat to everyone you care about. This only proves that. She needs to be taken out."

His breathing became more pronounced as he struggled to fill his lungs with oxygen.

"Think about your girlfriend… Catherine, isn't it? Think about your baby. Do what she failed to do for you and your sister, for your father. Protect them."

It was unthinkable but if he had to choose then Catherine and Jack would win. Without a doubt. His mother had created the life she lived in, the risks she took, but for him to be the one who pulled the trigger was just beyond his realm of thinking. Steve had no doubt that Gilroy had a handful of other people who could run this hit, but for whatever reason he appeared entertained with the notion it should be Steve. How could someone be so evil and so twisted to force a son to take his own mothers life?

Still he just couldn't see an out. There was a chance that an opportunity might present itself before it was time to pull the trigger. Even though it was a small chance, given he had no way of securing his family and friends from Gilroy back here if he somehow saved his mother, he had to take it.

Steve looked up to the man. His eyes reddened and glazed with tears. "I'll do it." He whispered.

"You'll take out Shelburne?" he said, hoping for a more specific confirmation.

Steve tightened his jaw, he couldn't believe he was saying it. "I'll do it." He repeated. This time a clear tone of bitterness gave his response its edge.

"Good decision, Steve. Great decision." Gilroy nodded as he took back the file from Steve's hand. "Welcome to the team."

Steve closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

"We're going to move you to somewhere more comfortable. Rest up for the night then we'll have you on that flight first thing." Gilroy said as he stood up. "Forty eight hours, this will all be over."

His biggest fear right now was, that in his present condition, he wouldn't make the next couple of hours, let alone the next forty eight. What would happen then? The moment he saw the picture he'd been fueled by adrenalin but as that started to fade again he became more and more lethargic.

Gilroy nodded to one of his men who walked behind Steve and tied his wrists together again, the second placed a bag, made of heavy black cloth, over his head.

**H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

"Ok, so this is the latest from Matheson." Reyes said as he read the information on the screen. "He's sifted through some recent communications in ASENTH but he hasn't found anything specific to Ryan Fitzgerald yet."

"Tell us what he did find?" Joe asked as he walked over.

"A travel itinerary amongst other things." Reyes frowned. "Looks like Gilroy flew in on a private flight to Princeville Airport three days ago."

"Princeville, that's a private airport on the big island." Chin said.

"And according to this, a helicopter was waiting to fly him out on arrival." Reyes added. "Sands Heli Tours… No destination logged, but I don't think he was sightseeing."

"I'm going to put twenty bucks down to say it was headed to Oahu." Danny said as he sat on the end of the bed.

"Kono…" Chin nodded. "Call them… also, ask Princeville to send through their surveillance from the time of that arrival."

"Yeah, I'm on it." She nodded as she grabbed her cell phone and walked out the door.

"Does Matheson say anything else?" Joe asked.

Reyes sighed, with a hint of defeat. "He said one name he recognized kept coming up in recent emails. Shelburne."

Danny looked up at Joe as he glanced at him.

"Did he say in what context?" Danny asked.

"That Gilroy was drawing in on Shelburne, and that he was working on handling the problem." Reyes nodded.

"What if Gilroy thinks Steve knows where his mom is? Maybe that's why he's holding him?" Danny asked Joe.

"He's not going to get anything out of Steve if that's the case." Joe answered. "Even if Steve knew he wouldn't hand her over."

"Right… so is that all he needs him for? If he realizes that Steve doesn't know or won't talk, then what's he going to do? Is he going to kill him?" Danny pushed.

Joe shrugged with defeat.

"You know…" Danny said through gritted teeth. "That woman has a lot to answer for." He paused as he forced his anger back. "The trouble she causes… if she'd just been honest with Steve, right from the moment he found her in Japan, then he wouldn't be in this situation. And where is she? Living it up somewhere, oblivious to the fact that he is in this much trouble." He yelled. "Is it any wonder she has a whole list of people out to get her? I'm about two seconds from putting my name down on that list myself. I sympathize."

"You need to redirect that energy onto the fact that if Gilroy is in Oahu, it's made finding Steve a whole lot easier. We need to focus on that." Joe nodded.

"It still doesn't change the fact that this should never have happened, Joe." Danny growled. "Or that, in the light of what's happened to her son, she should be here or at the very least, contactable."

Joe's eyes drifted down.

**H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

The two men guided Steve through the door of the room he'd been kept in and in, what he believed, was the warehouse area. He knew he was being moved, but with his vision impaired by the bag he didn't have a clue where to. The pair were unforgiving, pulling and tugging his arms with no care at all. He could only see his boots ever now and then, the dull concrete floor they walked on but besides that he had nothing. Even if he could identify his location, who was he going to tell?

He stumbled forward at one point, the weakness in his legs got the better of him. The pain in his arm seemed to be subsiding to a dull ache, though he had no idea if that was a good or a bad thing. Still he felt exhausted, at some point his body stopped communicating with his brain for just a moment, causing him to stumble again, this time landing on his knees.

"Come on." One of the men growled as they heaved him back up to his feet.

"Wait…" he said as he tried to catch his breath. "Just give me a second." He gasped.

"We got to go…" the other man replied. "Get the door."

He felt the first man let go of his arm and leave his side. His balance now tested. He heard the door open and then the heavy footsteps of the man as he stepped back over. They tugged on his arms once again, pulling him down a set of concrete steps. He could hear the engine of a car, idly running.

The same man let go again and disappeared whilst the other curled his hand around the back of Steve's neck and pushed him up against the side of the car, as if to immobilize him. He was only there a second or two before he was pulled back to stand up straight again. A door opened and the man pushed him into a better position to get his prisoner into the car. It was at that point Steve's drained body shut down, collapsing to the ground in a heap. Motionless and silent.

**H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

"Where've you been?" Danny asked as Kono walked back in.

"One lead led to another… but you're going to like what I've got." She answered. "Ok… I spoke to the manager of Princeville, they only had one, non chartered, aircraft land that day but they had a problem with their security system. It went down thirty minutes prior to the G6 landing and miraculously came back up thirty minutes after the passengers left."

"Gilroy had the security system hacked." Chin nodded.

"Either that or it was convenient timing." Kono shrugged.

"I'm sorry, did you say something about liking what you have?" Danny mumbled.

"That's the bad news. The good news is that the airports fall back, for their security going down, is to revert back to their old system, a camera at the gate that takes stills of all the passengers who go through. This system is so old school that its offline, if Gilroy had them hacked it wouldn't have shown up."

"Thank god for old school." Danny nodded. "Just backs my point up that this technological age we live in… sucks."

"One of the stills… it's a positive match to Gilroy." She held her phone up, showing them a grainy black and white picture. "Also, Sand Heli Tours said their helicopter took four men from Princeville and landed in a park in Haleiwa, where they were met by a limo driver."

"Ok…" Joe nodded.

"The booking wasn't made by anyone in ASENTH or Gilroy personally… it was made by a guy called Jeff Carter. He owns a security consultancy firm in Waikīkī… which happens to be one of about ten who subcontract personnel from ASENTH, in the US, on a needs basis. Carter's firm specializes in handling Kidnap and Ransom cases, specifically in Asia."

"Good… well then we should call him and let him know about our own K&R case… maybe he can help." Danny called sarcastically.

"My guess is that he is using Carter's contacts to get what he needs in Hawaii. Carter organizes everything and Gilroy keeps a low profile." Kono continued.

"I think you might be on to something there. Do we know if Carter is at his office?" Chin asked.

"I called, no answer… but he also owns an impressive beach front property on Diamond Head Road." Kono nodded.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Danny asked. "He might know where Gilroy is."

Joe's phone beeped, he clutched it in his hand a viewed the display. "I think we should sit tight for an hour, see if we can't get any more information on this guy and the likelihood of him knowing where Gilroy and Steve might be."

"Joe…" Danny frowned. "What's wrong with just asking him?"

"Because, like we've already discussed, us going around there to simply question him is going to start a ball rolling. What we need is grounds to hold him so he can't warn Gilroy." Joe answered. "See if you can get anything… ask Matheson to look into the name Jeff Carter… try to get something and if all else fails then we do it your way." He said before heading for the door.

"Where are you going, Joe?" Danny asked with frustration.

"I got to chase something up… I'll fill you in when I get back." He replied as he walked out the door.

"Brilliant." Danny moaned.

"I hate to say it, but he's right. We go charging around the island and Gilroy is going to get tipped off." Chin nodded.

"Yeah…" he whispered with frustration.

**H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Gilroy stood in front of a massive window that overlooked the beautiful grounds of the mansion that sat in the shadow of Diamond Head. At the end of the garden was a small beach before the view stretched out into the vast Pacific Ocean. It was midafternoon, the sky was blue and the water bustled with marine craft.

"Elis…" A man said as he appeared in the clean white crisp room, polished marble floors, modern chandelier, white leather couches with only a hint of grey accents around. "Here…" he said as he passed his friend a Crystal glass, half filled with an amber liquid.

"I'm trying to imagine what it would be like waking up with this view every single day." Gilroy sighed.

Jeff Carter smirked. "It's tough."

"I sympathize…" he nodded as the pair walked over to the couches and sat down opposite each other. "Any news?"

"My associate… he's taking care of McGarrett." Carter nodded.

"And he's trusted?"

"He looks after our guys when they're injured… he's never broken his confidentiality agreement. So yes, he's completely trustworthy." Carter sighed. "He did say that McGarrett was suffering from a particularly fierce infection… a wound on his shoulder."

"One I believe he got in the Middle East… I'm concerned he might have an infection that is resistant to drugs. They are common out there." Gilroy answered.

"Well, he's treating him with a heavy dose of IV antibiotics… though he would have to be on them for some time to ensure the infection is properly knocked down."

Gilroy nodded. "I just need him in a fit state to fly to a location and complete a job. What happens to him after that is not my concern." He said as he sipped some of the liquid from the glass. His cell phone chimed, he reached it from his suit pocket and pressed the answer button.

"Elis…" a voice said, one he recognized but was completely shocked to hear. He leant forward, resting his glass down on a table and standing up, moving back toward the windows. "Doris McGarrett…"

Doris sighed as pressed her cell phone to her ear. "I know what you're doing… and I know you have my son."

Gilroy smiled. "He's been very helpful. He wants to see you." He paused. "Not as much as I do, perhaps."

"Then I'll meet you."

Gilroy laughed menacingly. "Oh that's sweet… but I know the games you play. I'm not interested."

Doris looked to Joe and glared at him, the picturesque Waikiki skyline at dusk in the background. "I'm in Oahu, Elis. I'm willing to hand myself over to you… but on my terms."

Her proposal sparked some interest in him. He frowned. "Go on…"

"I get to spend some time with Steve… thirty minutes… and then you release him. You drop him somewhere safe and have his team notified to pick him up."

Gilroy laughed. "Come on now… what makes you think I would even consider letting go of someone who seems to be just as bigger threat to me as you are?"

"Because the thirty minutes will be used to convince Steve that he needs to back down from you. I'll tell him anything to make that happen… and because if Steve is not released… I have a contact who has a memory stick, with all the information on it pertaining to you and ASENTH's role in brokering illegal weapons deals… and your CIA 'leadership skills' in south east Asia, specifically Cambodia." She glared at Joe. "He will make sure it's released to the authorities."

Gilroy shuffled nervously on his feet.

"See, you might have thought you had the upper hand… but you don't. If you want me… you let my son go and you leave him alone." Doris whispered bitterly.

The man paused for a moment, carefully considering the offer. He sighed. "Tonight… 7 o'clock… Ala Moana Park. A black SUV will be there to pick you up. Come alone." He said before ending the call.

Joe's eyes drifted down. "You know what Gilroy will do to you."

Doris nodded.

"Listen, we can have a team follow the car… once Steve is clear we can come in for you." He reasoned desperately.

"No. Giving myself up is insuring Steve's safety." She shook her head.

"The evidence you have, on the memory stick, would insure yours… we get you out, you turn it over and Gilroy goes down." Joe answered.

She smiled thinly. "Except there is no memory stick. Not now anyway." She whispered. "I fled when my cover was blown in Bali… left everything in a house I was renting. By the time it was safe to go back, all my things had gone, including the memory stick."

Joe sighed with frustration. "Ok… we are working on uncovering the information from our end. We're real close. I'm confident we could have Gilroy indicted within a couple of days." He continued. "We rescue you, we place all of you into protective custody until Gilroy is charged."

"It's never going to stop, Joe… as long as they are out there… they're never going to stop." She argued. "It doesn't just stop with Gilroy or Cobb… there are more people out there who were involved… some much more powerful."

"The trouble is, Steve is also never going to stop. Not until he finds out what the connection between you and Wo Fat is." He shook his head.

"I'll talk to him." She whispered. "You just have to promise me you'll make sure he's ok and you'll look out for him."

Joe sighed as he turned away with disappointment.

"Joe…" she whispered.

"Yeah…" he said softly as he lowered his head.

"I have just over an hour until the meet… you should get back to the others…" she nodded.

Joe slumped his shoulders and sighed. He hated the thought of leaving her but he knew she wouldn't have it any other way. "Alright…" he whispered. "Good luck."

"You too." She nodded, pushing back the emotions she had brimming.

**Authors note: I made a mistake with Cobb, his name was Edward not James. I have no idea how I got the name James. Sorry, it's a mistake that will taunt me, grrrrr. Thanks again for all the comments, likes and favorites. Really appreciate it!**


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